


To Play the Fox

by rapid8rafter



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Action, Drama, F/M, Gen, M/M, scifi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2017-12-26 20:03:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/969740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapid8rafter/pseuds/rapid8rafter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A corrupt military dictatorship losing control and an underground terrorist group seeking absolute power. Naruto decides a creative approach is necessary to save the city that hates him - and Sasuke's not about to let his best friend fight alone. [SciFi AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Want it All Back

"Uzumaki."

Red hair flashing, she looked up, her green eyes piercing into the crowd to find the one who had said her name. The voice was dark and deep, cool and threatening. A shiver ran down her spine like icy water, chilling her to the bone; she knew that voice. It haunted her nightmares, her memories, every drifting subconscious moment behind closed eyelids. A mere moment of searching later, she spotted them. They were far in the back of the crowd of cheering well-wishers, both wearing crisp black suits and staring silently at her, side by side. Her hand automatically gravitated to her hip, where she kept a pistol belted at her side even over the frilly white wedding dress. Just as she was about to draw and take aim for his head, witnesses or no witnesses, the taller one nodded to her once, head dipping a mere inch, and they both turned and stalked away. Kushina watched after them, eyes narrow and heart pounding in her chest. It was a reminder, it had to be. But what were they waiting for? 

"Kushina?" 

At the sound of her new husband's voice, she turned her head and looked into his eyes, brilliant blue as two sparkling gems, or fragments of a sky on a sunny summer day. Her panic must have shown on her too-pale face or her clammy, shaking hand as it hovered by her gun holster. Maybe he heard the blood rushing through her body too quickly, the adrenaline summoned at the voice that still echoed around her head as a quiet, incessant whisper – this was the Police Captain, after all. 

_"Is everything alright?" he asked, and his voice was warm and as sweet as honey. She shook herself from the memory of his worried, drawn face, his gun in his hand and a trail of dead bodies behind him as he leaned over her, stretched on the hospital bed and wrists shackled to the steel bar, blue eyes dark and shadowed and voice shaking and cold as he asked the same question. Her hand quickly found his and squeezed it tight, so small and seeking comfort in his larger one that just wrapped around hers so easily, and she leaned against him with a weak smile._

_"It will be, darling."_

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

"Minato." Her hand reached out, shaking, hovering mid-air, as the other one clutched the hospital bed and he leaned over her with his worried, drawn face and his gun drawn and pointed at the door, his blue eyes shadowed. Her voice cracked. "Minato…"

"Kushina!" He gripped it in his free hand with bone-breaking force, but she didn't care. Didn't care as he held it to his lips and kissed it desperately, because she could only stare at his face, could only search for his eyes with her wide, sharp green ones. She ignored the pain, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Minato, I want you to stay. I want you to stay with him."

"I'm sorry Kushina, but that's not going to happen."

She clung to the fact that his voice wasn't shaking, wasn't cold. It was still warm and firm and full of love. She closed her eyes against the tears. "Minato," she choked out.

"Shh…" He kissed her hand again. "Don't think about it. Look at me."

And she couldn't do anything else, not when he used that voice, the one that commanded hundreds of gun-wielding men and women. His blue eyes pierced into her, and suddenly, her pounding heart calmed a little.

"It'll be alright," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. "It will be, darling. It will."

She couldn't look away from those bright blue eyes, shimmering with unshed tears. They snapped up to the doctor, and narrowed with the frustration he didn't let himself direct at her. "Hurry up, Tsunade-san, we don't have all night! Or do you want them to barge in in the middle of the operation?"

"I'm sorry Captain Minato," the middle-aged woman panted, breathless. "I'm working as fast as I can!" A drop of sweat dripped off her forehead and onto the crisp white hospital sheets. "But I've never had to perform a C-section while trying not to set off an unstable genetic bomb before! It takes some time!"

Minato clutched Kushina's hand to his forehead as he hung his head and forced himself to take several deep breaths, right hand and the gun in it still pointed unwaveringly at the door as if expecting an intruder at any second. "I'm sorry," he finally sighed. "That was unfair of me to say. Please, hurry. You don't know how many lives are on the line here."

Tsunade's mouth tightened into an unhappy line. "I only came back here for you, Captain. You know I think the rest of this city can rot in-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Tsunade," Minato growled, standing up. "Don't you even _dare._ I would give anything for this city. I would give my life."

Tears sprang in the doctor's eyes, but she ignored them as she worked. She was silent for several long seconds, her hands moving deftly and swiftly over the red-head's bloody mess of a stomach. The hospital room fell silent, the oppressive weight of the air sinking in around the three inhabitants.

Kushina screamed.

"Tsunade!" Minato yelled.

"No, it's alright! The baby is here!" The blonde doctor looked ready to faint, clutching the naked lump in her arms. "I'm sorry, Kushina, I'm sorry, you've been so good about not screaming…"

"Stop, Tsunade," Kushina huffed, managing a good-natured chuckle. "Men don't know how to handle it when we females are in pain. They don't understand what we go through, eh?"

The two people standing in the room stared down at the woman in the hospital with eyes filled with tears, wondering silently how she managed to laugh at a time like this.

The door burst open, gun first.

"Run, Tsunade." The order was calm, but Minato had already shot the intruder the moment the doorknob had turned, and he had his wife, bloody stomach and hospital dress and all, gathered in his arms. He was halfway out the door, holding Kushina against one shoulder with his right arm as he pointed his gun in front of him with his other. He cast one glance over his shoulder to the numb older woman, his big blue eyes filled with regret and a smoldering passion. "Run."

She nodded once, eyes burning, and took off into the adjoining room. She looked down at the babe still held against her chest, who was oddly silent. Panicking, she grabbed his tiny wrist as she ran and held a finger against it, her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. She stumbled, almost collapsing with relief as she felt the tiny pulse, cradling the child closer to her. Against all odds, he was alive.

 

 

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

_The light was blindingly bright, the hanging lamp shining directly onto her face. Her dirty fingernails dug into the mattress and she turned her head away._

_"Get the anesthetic," the dark, deep, cool voice ordered._

_A shuffle as another hurried to obey. "Anesthetic."_

_"Intravenous tube… needle…"_

_They pricked her arm in the crook of her elbow and tears sprung to her eyes as she flinched away. "You bastards!" she screamed, straining against the handcuffs that held her in place. "Stop it! I don't want to be a mutant!"_

_"Stop your screaming, little Uzamaki. You're the perfect person for our new experiment. You should be honored, really. Out of all the students in your class, we chose you. Aren't you proud?"_

_"Proud?!" she screeched. "That my genes are malleable enough for you? Get the fuck away from me, you creeps! Help! Anyone, please help!"_

_A quiet sigh filled the room. "Knock her out."_

_"Yes, sir."_

_In the dark room, the white light swung back and forth._

 

 

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

"Minato, go back, go back… please…" Kushina sobbed. "You don't have to die for me!"

He stared out the windshield, eyes flint and steel. "Stop it, Kushina."

"Minato! What about Naruto?"

His eyes narrowed, but he refused to look at her. "Naruto has all our old friends. He doesn't need either of us. Besides… I have to do this. Not for you, not for the city." He swallowed and squared his jaw. "I'm not doing this for anyone but him."

There was a screech of tires and he screamed, "Get down!" Kushina obeyed without a moment's hesitation, ducking as he shot over her head and through the passenger window of the car. Three bullets later, she straightened, wielding her own pistol, and leaned forward to shoot right past his face at the car on the other side. Panting hard, they both darted a glance into the rearview mirror to the burning crashes they had left behind.

"I don't understand," the beautiful red-head muttered, but her tears were dry and her eyes hard. "If they want to blow me up, why send them after us? Why not just detonate it now?"

"It's not just you they want dead," Minato explained, his voice deadpan. "They want to blow up the whole city. We're probably about leaving the range for which it would inflict damage… they want to drag you back. I'm surprised he would waste this many people for it, though." He sighed, and added under his breath, so softly she barely heard, "He should know me well enough by now to understand I would never let them get to you."

Kushina watched him, her expression desperate confusion and pain. "But why not just drop a bomb, then? Why go through all this trouble? Why did they need a pawn?!"

"What you're suggesting lacks subtlety," Minato spat. "You know he wouldn't want to go for anything that obvious. This way they get away with it, they get to go on living and trying to destroy everything. This way isn't traceable back to any of them."

"That's not true!" Kushina yelled, slamming her hands on the dashboard, and the flash of pain in her eyes at the movement went unannounced in the car. Air roared past them through the shattered windows. "You know who it was, and I do…" She trailed off, her green eyes growing wide. Minato's jaw clenched as she put her head in her hands, red hair covering her face.

"Everyone else is dead," she murmured.

"And we're about to be," Minato finished for her.

There was a moment's pause, and the sound of the rushing wind filled the car.

"I love you," she whispered.

He looked at her once, nothing more than a quick glance before he turned his eyes to the road that snaked before him. He held out his hand, palm up, inviting. She held it between both of hers, pressing it between her knees and her forehead as she curled into fetal position, gasping from the pain in her abdomen. "I love you more, Kushina."

And had she looked, his face would have been relaxed, his gun dropped unceremoniously on the seat between them, his eyes crystal clear. As it was, she only heard his voice, warm and firm and sweet as honey.

"It'll be alright, Naruto," she assured the air around her.

The speedometer ticked up to 95.

The clock struck midnight.

The car exploded.


	2. Want It All Back

**Disclaimer:**  I own no characters and make no money off of this story; all the ridiculous amounts of income for the Naruto Franchise go to Kishimoto. I do however own this plot, and the inventions that I create for this story.

Warnings: Violence, language

* * *

**Chapter One**

_My name is Uzumaki Naruto. You have no reason to be interested in that fact – I'm just your normal sixteen-year-old adrenaline-junkie orphan who's been in the Academy all his life. They spout a shitload of noble ideals about that, too – we're taking them off the streets; we're saving them from the life there; we're giving them an education; we're teaching them to protect themselves. All true, and I'd respect the Police for that. Of course, that's not all they're after, and that's why I don't. In a military dictatorship, you need people to carry out the Boss's will. You need fodder for the wars, people to fight and die for the sake of the Captain's orders, because that's what the Captain is and what he stands for and that's just his job, to give orders. It's okay, they tell the Privates. It's just his job, it's just yours. I'd understand that too – I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, ask anybody who knows me. I wouldn't want to be in charge of the hundreds of people in the Police ranks, because then I'd be responsible for all of their lives. But someone's got to do it. Someone's got to give the tough orders, someone's got to do the hard jobs – and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in command of half the ruffians they pick up and "save". I get that._

_It must have been the day my teacher went over the Rules that I really started doubting the Police. He had been reading from a new-looking leather-bound book, his free hand holding his desk as he leaned against it nonchalantly._

" _Rule number 56: Disobedience results in direct penalty as seen appropriate by the immediate commander on the scene. Repeals will be overseen by the Captain and the perpetrator will be punished as seen appropriate thereof."_

_I had raised my hand, a sheepish look on my then-twelve-year-old face as I rubbed the back of my neck - my signature embarrassed twitch. "Iruka. Could you clarify that?" I ignored the snickers from the smarter kids in the class._

_He had paused, staring over the book he had been reading from with bored eyes to flash me an indulgent smile as he elaborated. "It means that if you break a rule, your commanding officer can punish you for it however he or she deems fit, depending on what you did."_

" _What if they just don't like you? Can't they punish you any way they want?"_

_His eyes had crinkled as he had smiled at me, but they had flashed with a half-angry, half-suspicious light. I don't think he knew that I saw – heck, I don't think he even knew it happened. But if there's one thing people assume incorrectly about me, it's that I'm unobservant. "None of Konoha's officers would falsely accuse you of a crime just to see you punished, Naruto," he had continued. He coughed quietly and looked back down to the page, his eyes tracing over it to find the place he had left off, adding softly, "What a silly idea."_

_I had quieted down then. Most of the students probably figured I had just gotten set straight and would shut my mouth until the next stupid idea popped into my head that insisted on coming out of it. They'd be wrong, like usual. Only some of them understood what really happened when I stopped talking – I started thinking._

_There were more rules and regulations. It took Iruka an entire two-hour block just to read them all. I know there needs to be order among the people who keep order – but the Captain shouldn't run their lives._

_Anyway. That's beside the point, the point being that things are going to change in Konoha, and I'm going to be the reason. I want this city to go back to the way it was when the fourth Captain was in charge. He's practically a hero to the people – he was always personally surveying the streets, talking to people and investigating conditions throughout the area. He never hesitated to help anyone in need, no matter who they were, and he held enough public meetings that anyone with a complaint could make it known. He even died taking a bomb to save the city from a supposed terrorist attack. Ever since, Konoha's slipped from the dream he held until it's hardly worth his sacrifice anymore. The old Captain tries, but he's been in so many wars and seen so much I think it's hard for him to care anymore, if he even sees the people that suffer._

_I want to revive this place. I want to make it worthy of saving again. And I know it's never going to happen unless I do it my own way._

_Outside of the law._

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

With three loud bangs, his bullets dug their way through the fresh sheet and into the dummies at the other end of the courtyard, the cotton target swinging backwards from the impact and the small tufts of innocent white fluff that poofed out of his body going all but unnoticed under the blanket. Naruto lowered the pistol clasped firmly in his right hand with a small frown, chewing his lower lip as he regarded his Proctor nervously from the corner of his eye. The cop was middle-aged, wearing a standard green uniform adorned by a single chevron. After what seemed like a life-time of waiting, the proctor nodded swiftly.

"It'll do," he said shortly. "It's not the best, but I suppose it's passable."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and resurveyed his work. He knew he was far from the best shooter around, but he thought he had done better than that. His glance confirmed his suspicion; the first bullet was clean through the eye, the second very close to the heart (it had probably shattered a rib, which might have even pierced a lung) and the third was in the shoulder – he had been aiming for the throat with that one, so he supposed he was off enough for it to matter.

A cough interrupted his musings, and Naruto turned back to the proctor, who was regarding him with a sour smile. "You don't agree with my verdict?" His posture was relaxed, but Naruto could feel the tension in the words. He fought the urge to sigh at whatever mystery made all the police officers seem to hate him.

Instead he laughed, his grin wide. "I don't care what it was, as long as I pass, Proctor-san."

The proctor huffed wordlessly, marking something industriously on the clipboard in his hand, and Naruto moved out of the way, mockingly winking at the student standing in line behind him with a punch to the arm. "Beat that, Teme," he stage-whispered.

Sasuke gave Naruto a stare that was the equivalent of a noncold-hearted bastard's eyeroll. "You might want to cover your eyes, Baka. I wouldn't want to shatter all your misplaced self-confidence."

Naruto flipped him the bird. "Why don't you just close  _your_  eyes while you shoot, Sasuke-teme? Couldn't make your aim any worse!"

Sasuke just smirked. "Shockingly, you are, for once, right. I can shoot just as well with my eyes closed, dumbass – it won't affect my shot at all."

Naruto inwardly rolled his eyes at the admiring sighs and swooning of half the girls in his class. For some reason unknown to him, they were all drawn like magnets to the supposedly irresistible charm of the 'dark and mysterious' boys. Half of them fawned over Neji Hyuuga, heir to one of the most powerful families in the city, who was as rich as he was cold and annoying, and the other half drooled and screamed and went otherwise crazy over the Uchiha. He too had the appeal of money, Naruto grudgingly and somewhat jealously allowed, but the fact that his only living family was his older brother, and the two were nearly inseparable after the mysterious death of their once extensive family, only added to his mystique. Naruto tried not to grumble about the unfairness of it al. He had no family either; he also had no money, no overblown superiority complexes, and no filter between his brain and his mouth. He threw Sasuke a glare. "I'll show you something that will affect your shot," he mumbled menacingly, but before he could make good on his threat the Proctor stepped between them, looking thoroughly annoyed at having to work.

"Alright, that's enough," he huffed, sounding bored. He gave Naruto a shove away from the line and turned back to Sasuke. "Hurry up and shoot the damn target, kid," he ordered, "we don't have all day."

"Whatever you say," Sasuke practically purred, and there was a muted thud as a girl behind him actually hit the ground as she fainted. He shifted on his right foot and thrust out his hand in Naruto's direction, making the other boy automatically flinch defensively before realizing that he was only holding out his arm. He watched it suspiciously for a moment, nurturing a growing suspicion, until it was confirmed as the Uchiha curled his fingers demandingly. "Hand me your headband, Dobe," he said, slowly and sarcastically as if he was speaking to a young child.

Naruto grumbled and weighed the consequences of refusing, but the Proctor tapped his foot impatiently and the blonde obligingly untied his signature orange bandana from around his forehead and put it in Sasuke's outstretched hand. "Can't wait to see you make a fool of yourself, Teme," he spat, just so no one got the wrong idea. A moment later and it was tied securely around the annoying bastard's eyes and his left foot was back so his body was perpendicular to the dummy, his pistol clasped firmly in his right hand. The courtyard fell silent.

Naruto followed the line of his arm, held straight out in front of him. He pursed his lips and tapped his foot twice, just loud enough to make a nearly-silent thump on the compacted dirt. Sasuke's face twitched in brief displeasure, but he shifted his aim a few more inches to the right accordingly.

Naruto didn't miss the Proctor's eyes narrowing, but thankfully the man didn't say anything. He clasped his hands behind his back, breathed in, and calmly ordered, "Fire."

Sasuke shot once, adjusted, shot again, adjusted, and shot, his eyebrows drawn in concentration, but his shoulders carefully relaxed. The shots echoed around the courtyard in the shock that followed. The Uchiha reached up and pulled off Naruto's bandana in what appeared to be confident ease, but Naruto saw that he was only just restraining himself from nervously tearing it away. As he took in the results of the fresh blanket that had been stretched over the dummy, his eyes flashed with prideful pleasure. Naruto snorted.

"Teme," he spat, imbuing the word with not-entirely-fake envy. The Proctor was openly impressed, one grave eyebrow arched nearly to his hairline.

"Very impressive, Uchiha," he allowed. He made a longer, handwritten note on the clipboard, but when he looked up, his face was serious. "Try to refrain from such obnoxious shows of arrogant talent in the future," he advised.

Sasuke cast the man a condescending look, but nodded stiffly, striding off to the right to stand by Naruto. He tersely handed the blonde his bandana and Naruto snatched it from him with a glare. The two turned to the courtyard to observe their classmates, arms crossed and the occasional scowl sent in the others' direction, looking for all the world like hateful rivals. Naruto would have laughed, if it wasn't exactly what they wanted. Jealous, spiteful, challenging rivals, yes, but not hateful. He leaned back in a lazy slouch, his hands in the pockets of his black trench coat, a smile tempting to ruin his mask. "You're welcome," he sneered teasingly.

Sasuke scowled and rolled his eyes, but there was no vehemence in it. "I was perfect the first time, Baka. Your stupid little 'hint' ruined my shots," he grumbled.

"As if! If I hadn't intervened, they would have been just as 'passable' as mine were." Naruto tossed his head angrily, the word replaying in his mind for a moment before he could continue. "But no, yours were 'very impressive'."

"Dobe – I had my eyes closed." The light in his eyes betrayed that he was just as upset with the judging as Naruto. "Please," he muttered. "'Obnoxious shows of arrogant talent.' You should see me when I'm actually using my left hand, asshole. We'll see how much arrogant talent I have then."

"Teme! That would only make you way more talented, obnoxious, and arr- no, nevermind, you can't get any more conceited than you already are." He sighed impatiently at the boy's near-pouting face. What was he, ten? "There's a reason we decided to use our right hands, bastard."

Sasuke leered at Naruto. "Guess it wasn't a very good idea for you, eh?"

"Think I don't know I'm a miserable shot?" Naruto shot back defensively. "Guns aren't my thing."

Sasuke huffed. After a moment, he muttered, "I'm surprised you managed it all." His onyx eyes glared into space under the pretense of him watching yet another student take aim and fire. They had long ago tuned out the sound of gunshots. Naruto grinned crookedly at his best friend's attempt to cheer him up, inwardly laughing at his social hopelessness. No wonder everyone thought they hated each other.

"You could have just argued with me," he growled under his breath.

Sasuke punched him in the arm. "Why would I have? At least you have enough brains to understand that you're horrible at shooting. Honestly, you think I would try to corrupt the one thing you may have realized yourself after excruciating years of puzzling it out?"

Naruto punched him back. "Maybe you need a reminder of other things I have sufficient brains for? Who do you think is tied with you for the number one spot this year?"

Sasuke snorted in derision. "Please. Like you wouldn't still be a dobe if I didn't help you."

"Like you'd be able to shoot blind if I hadn't started you."

"Like you'd be able to shoot  _at all."_

"Just wait, Teme," Naruto snarled, inwardly enjoying the usual banter. "We'll see who wins the melee test up next."

The blonde cackled unabashedly at the flicker of doubt in his best friend's eyes, and was promptly punched in the face. It wasn't hard enough to really hurt, but Naruto still pulled back his arm to retaliate with a feral smile.

"That's enough, you two," the Proctor's voice stopped him just before his fist impacted the Uchiha's face with hardly enough strength to even be registered by the stoic teen, though the movement still drew the protesting screams and growls of the bastard's fangirls. "Save it for your next test, gakis." His glare spanned the width of the courtyard for a long second before he turned his gaze back to his clipboard.

Grumbling and ignoring Sasuke's smug expression, Naruto lowered his fist. The Proctor watched them warily for several seconds before turning back to Sakura, who was taking careful aim with enough nervous concentration it seemed she would set the dummy on fire with her piercingly emerald eyes alone. Naruto leaned over and whispered tauntingly, "I'm going to kick your sorry rich ass, Uchiha," into Sasuke's ear. The boy didn't so much as flinch.

"In your wildest deluded dreams, you poor idiot," he breathed in return.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Three rapid shots interrupted them, and they turned to where Sakura had fired in succession almost as unhesitant as their own in mute surprise. Her results curbed their shock; they were passable, but none extremely or immediately fatal. She held the pistol in two hands to brace herself, her eyes narrow. Apparently satisfied, she straightened and lowered her gun with a crisp nod. The Proctor scribbled on his clipboard, apathetic, and drawled, "Good enough. Step aside."

She turned her head to the two boys, her long pink hair – and all the gods only knew how a girl got naturally pink hair – swishing at the quick motion. Naruto and Sasuke offered her polite nods, each deciding to be at least marginally respectful after such an admittedly surprising result. She recognized the movement for the rare compliment it was and nodded back severely, before she seemed to remember to play the part of a teenage girl, flipping her bangs and winking at them as she walked away to the other side of the courtyard. Naruto sighed, and Sasuke growled.

"Why does she do that?" Naruto lamented.

"Idiot girl," Uchiha snarled.

"Does she think we like it when she acts like some fucking cheerleader? This is our test to get into the  _Police Force_." Naruto tried not to sound too disdainful – the girl wasn't really all that bad when she got away from the corrupting influence of the other girls in their class. Sasuke just stared after her, his black eyes fixed on her retreating form. Naruto nudged him in the ribs suggestively, waggling his eyebrows. The opportunity was simply too good to pass up. "You sweet on her?" he hummed, if somewhat incredulously.

Sasuke shoved him away with a scowl. "Don't be ridiculous!" he practically squealed in indignation. "She's a-" he repressed a shudder of horror "- _fangirl._ "

Naruto didn't press the matter, but neither did he miss the hint of pink on the taciturn teen's cheeks. His smug smile displayed his opinion on the matter, making it quite clear that it wouldn't be ignored for long.

A few minutes later, the class was assembled in another corner of the courtyard, Naruto trying not to laugh as Ino all but draped herself on Sasuke, gurgling about how amazing and perfect he was and she thought he was the coolest person ever and he looked really hot in black and did he see that she had passed? Sasuke turned his pained expression on his blonde friend, pleading for release. Naruto just flipped him the bird unsympathetically and left him in the girl's clutches with an amused grin, pushing through the crowd in search of a familiar pineapple-head.

"Yo, Shika," he called, coming up behind his friend. The lazy teen turned at the sound of his nickname with a bored look, though he brightened a bit at the sight of Naruto. The blonde came up to stand next to him, his hands in his pockets nonchalantly.

"Hey Naruto." The genius smirked a bit. "Nice job tricking the Proctor with that right-handed trick."

Naruto grinned at the praise. "You think he'll underestimate me when we have to shoot moving targets?" he asked smugly.

Shikamaru nodded with a heavy sigh. "I wish I'd thought of it. It'll be so troublesome actually having to hit the bastard. I'm not too worried, though; I've seen him around when Gai needed to report to my dad. He's pretty low down in the ranks, even for the Patrol Squad. I doubt he even knows  _how_  to dodge a well-aimed bullet. Still… what a drag." He stared mournfully into the middle distance at his lack of foresight, lamenting that the blonde had somehow out-planned him. He and the duck-butt-bastard must have collaborated. Naruto just clapped him on the shoulder kindly.

"Whatever, Shika, I bet you could beat him any day of the week without trying. Which is good, since if you had to try you wouldn't bother."

Shikamaru ignored the barb, turning his gaze back to Naruto and smiling evilly as another thought occurred to him. "I bet Sasuke-teme was pretty pissed you needed to correct him."

Naruto laughed, his eyes flashing with mischievous delight. "Yeah, the ungrateful bastard. Honestly I'm surprised he even listened to me in the first place."

Shikamaru's face fell a little as his countenance grew serious. He turned and faced forward, pretending to listen to the instructions the Proctor was giving on their next test. "He trusts you," he said slowly. Sensing Naruto stiffen, he quickly added, "Besides, he wanted to seem as perfect as possible."

Naruto covered his surprise at his friend's firm declaration of the Uchiha's faith in his judgment with a snort. "OCD perfectionist…" he growled in mock frustration. "Makes the rest of us look bad."

Shikamaru snorted in agreement. "Troublesome rich bastards." He paused for a moment to yawn in boredom. "Did you see the year ahead of us? Neji was as good as Uchiha."

Naruto shook his head, but chuckled in exasperation. "For some reason, I'm not surprised. Did he use his special glasses?" The boy tried not to sneer at the question; it was a fair advantage. Hell, if he had them, he wouldn't hesitate to use them. The problem there being, poor and unwanted orphans hardly had cutting-edge, highly-guarded secret technologies to boast about.

"I didn't hear him activate them, but I'm sure he did."

"Inventors with money should be shot," he suggested to no one. He couldn't very well include all inventors, or the pretty things he had been working on for the past year, finally perfected and sitting happily in his pockets all but thrumming for the upcoming fight, would never have been created. He had a tight budget, but he had a few sharp ideas here and there. A new thought occurred to him, an impish grin splitting his face. "Or they should have someone sneak into their mansions and steal all their precious little prototypes." Naruto laughed at his own statement. It was funny enough to picture someone being able to sneak into the mansions when they had enough personal guards to fill a whole police squad, let alone get any of their inventions out of the house. And then to think that if someone could accomplish such an impossible feat that they would spread the mechanics to anyone instead of keep them for themselves… not likely.

Shikamaru snorted with him. "Like that would ever happen," he drawled in agreement to Naruto's thoughts. "Just wait until Uchiha figures out how to work his." Naruto pulled a woeful face at the mere thought. Sasuke's aim was formidable enough as it was without help from his father's inventions. Those black-wire glasses sat halfway down his nose, innocuous and – currently – useless. Naruto almost didn't want to see them when the gadgetry that apparently shouldn't have been able to fit in such thin frames was sent whirring and whizzing. Shikamaru saw his expression and laughed wryly. "Let's just hope his brother doesn't give him any hints. Hopefully he won't puzzle it out on his own for a few years."

Naruto noticed the way his friend mentioned Itachi with an almost reverent tone, his face carefully neutral even as he tried to make a joke. Naruto sighed, absently wondering why Itachi-san had that intimidating affect on people while simultaneously wondering how he could achieve it for himself. He opened his mouth to say something in reply when the Proctor called, "Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, you're up!"

Naruto shot the pineapple-head an apologetic smile. "Any rules?" he asked, having not paid attention to a single word the Proctor had said. Shikamaru shrugged, slipping his hands into his loose jeans and slipping into ultra-lazy-mode.

"Don't die, don't kill him."

Naruto just grinned. "Good enough for me," he growled, pushing his way through the crowd to the front, where the Proctor and Sasuke both stood impatiently waiting. He winked at the teen arrogantly. "Ready to lose, Teme?"

Sasuke's smirk was practically patented. "As if." He stepped back several paces, slipping into a fighting stance. Naruto ignored the dreamy sighs behind him, looking to the Proctor who was watching the proceedings with muted interest.

"Proctor-san, just to be sure… to rules other than to avoid lethal force, correct?" At the man's nod, Naruto tore off his trenchcoat with a dramatic flair, the orange flames on the bottom hem seeming to flicker as though they were real. He tossed it behind him, secretly satisfied as a feminine hand reached out to catch it before it could hit the ground. Sasuke wasn't the only one in their class with a few fangirls.

Sasuke watched his reaction and shot him a cocky, condescending, almost pitying smile. He peeled his own dark blue hoodie over his head and threw it over Naruto with an elegant flick of his wrist, reveling in the screams of delight and shouts of anger as the girls fought over themselves to grab it first. Naruto rolled his eyes at the show off, but otherwise ignored the movement. He could care less how many idiotic females would trod over each other to get to him. The fewer got in his way, the better. He rolled his neck and popped his fingers, sinking into a crouch and balancing on the balls of his feet, bouncing a few times to loosen up. "Right, Proctor-san," he said brightly. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Very well," the man huffed, his pencil poised over the clipboard he held. His gaze darted from the Uzumaki to the Uchiha, taking in the excited glint in their eye. Both wore black running pants, the Uchiha a simple white t-shirt and the Uzumaki a plain white tanktop. If it weren't for their hair color and the blonde's affinity for orange – the stripes down the side of his pants, the bandana tied over his forehead, and especially the brightly colored Nikes – he would have had trouble telling them apart. He paused another moment to give them time, but deeming they were both prepared, he rubbed his eyes and hoped it wouldn't get out of hand. He had a bad feeling about this fight. "Begin."

It was hard to follow exactly what happened next, as the two boys both automatically sprung into motion. Sasuke ran at the blonde, pulling out a switchblade as he went. Naruto sprang into a roll, the lack of hesitation in the movement suggesting that he had anticipated his opponent's move rather than see it. The Uchiha quickly adjusted, leaping over the blonde and spinning to land facing him. Naruto, however, came out of his roll on his hands and kicked his legs out in a circle around him, knocking Sasuke's feet out from under him. Sasuke reacted instantaneously, flipping into a backwards handspring to make distance between himself and Naruto, who had sprung to his feet and looked ready for business.

The courtyard was silent.

"Not bad, Uzumaki… for a dobe," Sasuke goaded.

"Dead last? Really?" Naruto scoffed. "I haven't been that lazy for years. On the contrary, after his fight I quite expect to be number one."

"Keep praying, Dobe," Sasuke teased, and shot forward, his switchblade still in his hand. Naruto held his position, watching every move carefully. The Uchiha sliced at his head, the knife held in a backwards grip. Naruto leaned backwards, ducking under the blade, only to realize that Sasuke had aimed a punch at his stomach with his left hand. He grabbed the boy's fist in his right hand, stopping its momentum. The knife reappeared in the corner of his vision.

Thinking fast, Naruto used the hand in his possession, flipping over it and twisting the Uchiha's arm in the process. He yanked it behind the boy's back cruelly, hearing the pop as the shoulder dislocated and suppressing a cringe. Sasuke didn't so much as cry out, bending over and throwing Naruto over his head with the arm that had snapped out of place. The blonde landed in an undignified heap on the ground, skidding to a stop several feet from Sasuke. He got up quickly, watching the raven-haired boy warily. He knew from personal experience that the Uchiha got  _vicious_  when he was hurt. True to form, the boy was glaring at him, his black eyes hard and cold as chiseled rocks.

_Think, Uzumaki, think…_  Naruto thought frantically. He thought of his trump card, but he shoved the idea to the back of his mind. It was far too early in the fight for that. He would only want to whip that out at the very end, to see the bastard's shocked face.

A fist solidly connected with face, and he heard the  _crunch_ as his nose broke. He winced in pain, feeling the hot blood poor over his lips. That would teach him to space out during a spar, he thought sourly. Instincts alone allowed him to block the uppercut that was sent his way, his memory subconsciously recalling the bastard's favorite combo from all the times they had practiced together. He ducked quickly, narrowly avoiding a knife to the face, and shoved his own fist towards Sasuke's stomach. It was diverted quickly and he was rewarded with a painful kick to his shin.

_Damn,_  Naruto cursed silently. He's  _pissed._  He scrambled backwards to make some room, but Sasuke stuck to him like glue. The two whirled through rapid Taijutsu forms, flawlessly executing all the moves the teachers had taught them for years, but neither apparently gaining the upper hand. After an indeterminable length of time, the two sprung apart, their exhausted gasps the only sound in the court. Everyone had shifted, lining up against the walls to make room for the teens as they had migrated across the dusty arena whilst locked in their fight. Even the Proctor had moved, jumping onto the low roof of the building to get a better view of the shockingly fast blows.

Naruto straightened, breathing through his teeth. His shirt was plastered to his body with sweat, his bandana soaked. The blood on his face had long ago dried up, but the Uchiha had landed a solid blow on his ribs. He stretched experimentally, feeling it creak in protest. He grimaced; cracked maybe, but at least it was unlikely to be broken. That was alright, he supposed.

Across from him, Sasuke was hiding his own pain. His left arm hung limply at his side, the ball of his shoulder protruding oddly. His eye was already beginning to blacken, his pale skin staining purple at the internal bruising. His glasses were bent at the nose-piece from the same punch that had given him the wound, and if anything, that made him the angriest. Naruto watched as he very slowly reached up with his right arm and pulled the lenses off his face.

"Sakura," he growled, never taking his eyes off Naruto.

As the girl hurried up to him and took the glasses out of his hand, her face serious, Naruto fought the urge to laugh out loud. She scurried back to her spot, and he heard the explosion of whispers as the girls around her declared their jealousy or hatred or simple wish to touch His things. Naruto beamed crookedly at Sasuke, who returned his stare blankly. He had gone into  _that_  mode, it seemed.

"Proctor-san, I hope you make note of this interference," Naruto called. He didn't turn to look at the man, too wary of turning his back on his opponent.

"Shut up, Uzumaki. Let me do my job and get back to yours."

"Hai, Proctor-san." His tone was good-natured, despite his exhaustion. The blood coursing through his veins, his pounding heart, and everyone here to watch him… he had never been happier. He couldn't help but stick his tongue out at Sasuke childishly. "Need a lackey now, do you, Uchiha? Or were you just too afraid I would break the precious things before you figured them out? Doesn't matter, you'll never figure them out-"

Sasuke hissed menacingly at the taunt and launched himself forward. Naruto smiled.

_Well, guess it's now or never,_  he reasoned, reaching up and pulling the orange bandana on his forehead over his eyes.

* * *

_Shit. Since when is he this good?_

Sasuke watched Naruto pull back his fist and hurriedly ducked, swinging his leg up to aim a kick at the blonde's head. Naruto didn't even hesitate before spinning under the leg, using the momentum of his punch to aim a leg-breaker at his kneecap. Sasuke quickly dropped to the ground and threw the leg out in an attempt to kick his friend's legs out from under him, but Naruto easily leaped over them like a jumprope and sent another attack at Sasuke's face. He rolled quickly, leaping to his feet, absently noting that he was panting hard. Even he had to grudgingly admit that the Uzumaki had gotten better.

The two of them had been dancing for a good hour when they finally pulled apart, though neither had any clue of the true length of time that had passed. Sasuke inwardly winced at the blow the blonde had landed on his eye, the cold metal of his half-frame glasses digging into his nose. He watched as Naruto subtly stretched his side several feet away, hiding his smirk of satisfaction. He thought he had heard some bones crack when he had punched him. Relatively certain Naruto wouldn't fly at him with more furiously fast blows, at least for a few minutes, he reached up and took off the bent things. He debated putting them in a pocket, but knowing Naruto, they'd likely get broken before the end of the fight. He sighed, but he really had no choice if he wanted to preserve his father's precious invention.

"Sakura." He made his tone as commanding as possible, hoping against all hope that she wouldn't take it as a sign of encouragement. The last thing he needed was to have a fangirl following him around, gushing about how trustworthy and important she was. He shuddered at the thought. Thankfully, the girl just ran up, took the glasses, and looked him in the eye. Her emerald gaze was subdued and thoughtful, almost dark. Sasuke tried to be as dignified as one could be as they huffed, out of breath and their face looking like a depressed painter's color palate. He gave her a cold, condescending look, but tried to transfer some small amount of thanks into the stare. She nodded seriously and ran back, and Sasuke supposed he had gotten the message across. He shook his head.  _What an odd girl._

Naruto was saying something to the Proctor, and Sasuke bounced on his feet, shaking his useless left arm with a scowl. Damn dobe had gotten him early on with that one. He really had to just hurry up and end the fight so he could pop the stupid joint back into place.

Naruto's voice filtered through his busy mind. "…afraid I would break the precious things before you figured them out? Doesn't matter, you'll never figure them out."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Naruto was his best friend; he knew everything about him. He knew how much those things meant to him. He  _knew_  they were the only thing he had that his father had given to him. More importantly, he knew how hard Sasuke tried every single day to expose their secrets. They were his family's prized possession, just as the stupid Hyuugas had their own glasses. His horrible cousins both knew how to activate theirs – but then again, the twins' father was still alive to help them. Sasuke only had Itachi, and as good as his brother was to him, he would never dream of giving Sasuke even a hint of how to work his. He would just stare over the frameless top of his own pair, his onyx eyes emotionless, and inform him for the trillionth time that it was his own mystery to solve.

_That's it, Naruto._  Sasuke thought, more than a little stung.  _I'm ending this._

He sprang forward, knowing the Uzumaki always had trouble keeping up with him. He was way faster than the blonde, and he knew it. He just had to get in Naruto's guard, like he had at the beginning of their long-term taijutsu match. After an hour, Sasuke was getting tired out, and he knew his speed was starting to deteriorate, but even so, the dobe should have been slower than. He nearly faltered from shock when a knowing smirk twitched on his friend's lips, and he slowly, deliberately,  _arrogantly_ , just pulled his bandana over his eyes – just as Sasuke had earlier.

_What?_  Sasuke's mind choked on the sight.  _The hell is he doing?_  Wary, Sasuke stopped his charge. As much as he hated to look hesitant, it would hardly do him any good to rush in when he didn't know what he was facing.

That thought alone cause his eyes to narrow. He  _always_  knew what Naruto was up to. He was his best friend – they trained together every day. He knew all the blonde's tricks… at least, he had thought he had. Sasuke watched him carefully, but the Uzumaki just stood, relatively upright for a spar, the cloth covering his eyes and his head turned slightly away from the Uchiha. If Sasuke hadn't stopped registering the crowd long ago, he would've taken in the shocked stillness from everyone gathered. The teens had never sat through an hour of class silently, let alone attentively, but they hardly dared breathe in the charged atmosphere of the court.

Naruto somehow recognized his halt, his head tilted. "What's this? Are you afraid, teme?"  _Ha, weren't suspecting that, were you?_

Sasuke glowered at him, uncaring that the dobe couldn't see the death glare that should have sent daggers of terror through him. "I was hoping you wouldn't just give up like this, but I guess you are that pathetic. I'll give you this chance to take that off and fight me like a man."  _What the_ _ **hell**_ _are you doing?_

"Teme," Naruto snorted. "You had your little blind show, why don't you give me a chance?"  _Come on. Let me show off a bit._

Still cautious, but hardly about to back away from a challenge, Sasuke reached to his belt very slowly and pulled out another of his family inventions. Much of how he and Naruto communicated came down to what they didn't say as much as what they said. "Okay, dobe. You want a chance? Hope you can take the  _heat."_

His flamethrower was a carefully calibrated weapon. It may have been a family invention, the design of which was a coveted secret by the Police Force and the Hyuugas, but Sasuke's own was a work of art. He had spent countless nights in the garage of the Uchiha mansion, picking and welding and tampering with the instrument until it was a personalized weapon of hellish death that could fit in one hand. Sasuke had had Itachi look over the changes, and even his older brother had been impressed. He had ruffled his hair, jokingly asking if he would update his own flamethrower. Not that he needed it; the older Uchiha was feared even by Captains of the Police Force squads.

Sasuke grimaced. He still wasn't sure why that was, not after ten years of asking since the massacre. But he swore, as soon as he passed, he would get to the bottom of that mystery, and all Itachi's vague redirections and refusals to answer wouldn't help him then.

He leveled the weapon at Naruto with his good arm, taking in his lowered stance. He smiled at the unknowing, concentrated expression on his friend's face. "I finally get to use it," Sasuke purred happily. Naruto's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Use wh-"

Naruto didn't get to frame his question when Sasuke pulled the trigger and white hot fire leaped out. Somehow, Naruto sensed it coming and ducked, rolling to the side. Sasuke followed him with the stream of flame, leaving a scorched section of earth where the blonde had previously stood. He stopped, letting the fire die. Naruto's face was grim where he crouched, one arm braced against the ground. "Are you trying to burn down the station, teme?" he asked gravely.

Sasuke scoffed. "Please, dobe. If they can't stop a fire, what good are they?"  _Forget about them, you're fighting me!_

"Hmph. I suppose you have a point there, Sasuke-teme." Naruto smiled crookedly. "I guess we can go all out then, eh?"  _This will be fun._

* * *

Naruto heard the rush of air and felt the heat coming at him and rolled to the side, his instincts taking over.  _The fuck? A flamethrower? Since when-_  He heard the sizzle as the ground where he had been sizzled softly, and a new thought occurred to him. "Are you trying to burn down the station, teme?" Unbidden, the picture of the city burning rose in his mind. He pushed it down in confusion. Why had he just thought that anyway? It wasn't like-

"Please, dobe. If they can't stop a fire, what good are they?" Sasuke finished his thought for him, and Naruto picked up on his understatement.  _Stop reveling in the audience, idiot._ He couldn't help a small smile. He couldn't remember the last time Sasuke had taken him so seriously.

"Hmph. I suppose you have a point there, Sasuke-teme," he admitted. He flexed his fingers again as they twitched, longing for the weapon currently hidden at his belt. "I guess we can go all out then, eh?" He reached down, fingering the cool metal thoughtfully. It would be a great pleasure to pull them out, especially after the Uchiha had unmasked his own new weapon, the bastard. Then again, he had to give the jerk a taste of his heightened senses first. Let him appreciate the control Naruto had worked so hard to gain. He contemplated for a moment, but quickly decided: why not both?

He leapt forward, his finger slipping through the hole in the top of the knives and pulling them easily from his sheath. He heard the chain rattle as he ran with the knives, and heard as Sasuke jumped back to make space. He considered pouting – Teme's stupid long-distance gun would make it had to get in close – but when he thought of his options, it really would work out fine. He judged his distance from the sound of the Uchiha's somewhat-subsided but still ragged gasps, skidded to a stop, and slipped the knives from his hand, grabbing one by the back of the blade and flicking his wrist. The knife on the other end of the chain snaked out in Sasuke's direction with the satisfying  _chink_  of metal-on-metal and the whir of rushing air.

He heard Sasuke's muffled swear as he rushed to slip his gun back in his holster and whip out his switchblade, seeing as he only had one good hand. Naruto bit back a smirk of triumph.  _Take that, bastard!_ As the knife hit Sasuke's blade, Naruto snapped his wrist backwards and summoned the weapon back into his hand. He snatched it out of the air without pulling up his bandana, his carefully heightened senses picking up each motion and sound. He put his finger through the hole once more, spinning it absently. He heard the hum as it picked up speed and knew it would be nothing but a blur of motion.

Sasuke and he faced each other, silent. Then, as one, they sprung forward, Naruto grabbing the knife in a backwards grip and crossing it with the other in front of him to stop the momentum of Sasuke's switchblade. His elbow blocked the Uchiha's kick, and his foot caught the knee aimed at his stomach. The two stood dead-locked for a long moment before they broke apart, sweating and panting. Naruto sheathed his knives with a flourish, the chain rattling, and pulled up his headband in time to see Sasuke folding his switchblade in half and wiping sweat off his forehead. The two shot each other a grin and bowed. As they straightened and Sasuke stepped forward so they were side by side, they noticed the sheer silence of the courtyard. They looked around at the stunned faces of their classmates with barely hidden smugness. The Proctor jumped down from his perch, his face an emotionless mask.

"You're supposed to keep going until there is a clear winner," he said, somewhat hesitantly. Sasuke smirked.

"If we kept going, not only would this courtyard – and likely the station – be razed to the ground, but one of us would end up dead. Nonlethal force was one of the fight's stipulations."

"It would be for the best if we end it here," Naruto agreed. "Besides," he added, "it's been what… half an hour already?"

The Proctor looked at the watch on the inside of his wrist and shook his head in mute shock. "Almost two hours," he corrected wryly. Naruto gave Sasuke a discreet grin and was pleased to see a smile tempting his friend's lips. That was a new record.

"So…" Naruto sounded at once hesitant and cocky, a very odd mixture of tones. He smiled somewhat devilishly. "Do we pass?"

The Proctor rubbed his temples, looking in sore need of sake. "With a fight like that? How could I fail you?"

The two teens gave each other a look that translated to any other pair of friends' high five. Sasuke drew himself up to his full height, ignoring the sweat that made his shirt cling to him (unlike the female population of the class) and gave Naruto a wholly condescending look. "Dobe," he spat. "Sheer luck. I'll  _destroy_ you next time."  _Good fight, Naruto._

Naruto rolled his eyes and nodded at the other boy's shoulder. "Better rethink that threat, teme," he said drily.  _Go get that healed up, man._

As if reading the hidden message, the Proctor was at their side, and Naruto blinked at his speed, not for the first time feeling envious. He couldn't even match the low-ranking officers yet - he was such a failure. And he had hoped to be Captain one day? Pathetic. He needed to work a lot harder. He drew himself up; as if that wasn't new.

"Both of you, to the infirmary, now," the Proctor ordered sternly, giving them a purposeful shove in the right direction. Taking in the sight of the still-shell-shocked classmates around the perimeter, watching the two boys walk away as if their eyes were permanently glued to their forms, he sighed. "The rest of you, clear out. We'll finish tomorrow."

Nobody moved for a long moment, and the Proctor considered just leaving them there and sending in someone with a higher paycheck to deal with them. Quickly, however, a boy in a black shirt and jeans peeled away, looking bored but pleased. The kid had been around the station before - he was sure the boy looked familiar. "Right, you heard the man - let's get hell outta here." His tone was as bored as his expression, but it held a commanding undertone that spoke of his own quiet confidence. "We can all congratulate them tomorrow."

His words seemed to work their way into the addled children's brains slowly. Finally, cheers echoed around the courtyard, the girls screaming and the guys talking amongst themselves. The Proctor could only pinch the bridge of his nose as the children flooded away.  _I did_ _not_   _sign up for this…_


	3. Don't Bother None

**Disclaimer:**  I own no characters and make no money off of this story; all the ridiculous amounts of income for the Naruto Franchise go to Kishimoto. I do however own this plot, and the inventions that I create for this story.

Warnings: Violence, language, allusions to domestic abuse

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Are we still going through with the plan?"

"Of course, Teme. Why would we make plans just to abandon them?"

"Shit Dobe, no need to get snippy. I was just asking."

"Well, I was just answering."

Sasuke glanced up from the wrapping on his shoulder to glare at Naruto. "What's your problem?" Pale fingers ghosted over the tan bandage until he was seemingly satisfied with the nurse's job, and he pulled the sleeve of his blood-spattered white t-shirt in a vain attempt to cover the wound. He shifted on the edge of hospital bed, making the thin paper crinkle. The small sound seemed to echo in the silent hospital.

"I'm sorry about that," Naruto muttered, leaning his head against the wall behind him and nodding at the wrapping. He subconsciously crossed his arms over his own stained-covered chest, wishing he had his trenchcoat and making a mental note to find it as soon as physically possible. He closed his eyes, trying to fight the growing nausea that always built when he was in hospitals. The medical wards were painful for him, each heightened sense screaming with overload. There was too much white, everywhere; white lights bounced off of white tiles and walls and beds and reflected until it was so bright it  _hurt._  The cloying scent of lavender antibacterial barely covered other, sweeter stenches, and even the noises seemed amplified, as everything was either maddeningly hectic or eerily silent in the long halls. Naruto's stomach roiled. He wanted to go home, but then, he had been the one to bust up Sasuke's shoulder…

Sasuke growled at him, a deep note in his throat that caught Naruto off-guard. "You didn't answer my question," the Uchiha snapped. He pushed himself off the cot and stood in front of the blonde, hands clenched at his side. Naruto knew he did it to stop himself from constantly fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, the poor OCD bastard; he was probably dying to get home and wash it, or find his sweatshirt to cover it. Sasuke shifted a little and glowered at the Uzumaki impatiently. He said nothing for a long minute, and Naruto's sensitive ears picked up on the  _tick tock tick tock_  of a clock in the next room over. He shivered and glared at nothing. Suddenly, Sasuke's frigid voice cut through the stillness.

"Have you been taking your medication?"

Naruto was silent. It was all the answer Sasuke needed.

"Goddamn it, Dobe!" He turned and walked a few steps away from Naruto as the boy cracked his eyes open enough to watch him spin around again and return. "You know how you get when you're off of them! Why do you think doctors prescribe them? To be ignored?"

"I hate them."

"I hear relapse is a real bitch, Naruto, ever thought you'd hate that?"

"I can't… I can't handle them."

"You know how hard it is for me to deal with you when you're like this? You are so annoying! Your emotions are one big… Agh! You don't even care, do you?"

"I said I hate them!" Naruto screamed. Sasuke froze, but his pale features automatically readjusting into an expressionless mask almost before Naruto could catch the hurt look. He rubbed his temples, his hand blocking his view of the other boy, before running his hand down his face with a heavy sigh. When he lifted his shockingly blue eyes to meet Sasuke's, they pleaded for understanding. His voice turned soft and desperate. "Don't you know what they do to me? My hand shakes, I can't focus, I'm exhausted and weak… Do you really want someone like that as your partner?"

Sasuke regarded Naruto with mixed emotions playing on his face. Finally, he just growled and turned around, walking away. He was out the door, Naruto watching his retreating frame silently, when he called, "Are you coming, Dobe?"

Naruto pushed himself off the wall with a grin and hurried after him. "I knew you'd understand!" he squealed.

"You sound like a fangirl," the Uchiha said dryly, not looking his way.

Naruto knocked his voice up a few more octaves and batted his eyelashes. "Really? You really mean it? You are so amazing! That's the nicest thing anyone has  _ever_ said to me! How do you know just what to say, Sasuke-kun?" He sighed dreamily.

Sasuke knocked him over the back of the head, making Naruto stumble. He caught himself before he could fall flat on his face and spun around on one foot to kick the chicken-assed boy in the gut.

A sharp rattle to their left interrupted their impromptu brawl, and they turned to see a nurse leaning over the desk in her office to knock on the window, a stern look on her wrinkled face. Hard eyes latched onto Sasuke's shoulder, and one eyebrow twitched dangerously.

Sasuke stood up straighter and tried to look innocent, while Naruto lamented that leaning forward did nothing to improve her physique. Sasuke's quiet cough and sharp elbow prompted him to lift his eyes and cast the woman a blinding smile.

"Sorry," he called, loud enough to be heard through the glass. "I'll be careful with the delicate little angel."

Sasuke's boots rammed on his instep, out of the nurse's sight. Naruto's heel ground his toes.

Looking harried, the woman waved them away and sat back down, massaging her temples as she looked at piles of paper with neat type covering nearly every inch and muttering things even Naruto's ears couldn't pick up. The two boys scurried away immediately, turning down the maze of long white hallways towards the station's main door.

" _Delicate angel?"_  Sasuke hissed, shoving Naruto into a wall when they were far enough away not to be checked by interfering women.

The picture of maturity, Naruto stuck out his tongue.

Rolling his eyes and ignoring his tiny smile, Sasuke kept walking, and the two passed through the large glass doors marked Hospital Wing with dual sighs of relief.

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

"Sasuke, let me ask you something, and answer me honestly."

Taken aback by Naruto's unusually serious tone, the boy slowed and looked around him. They had just entered the main wing of the station, the secretary's desk a mere fifteen feet away. The greeting room made the building appear deceptively small – Sasuke guessed in order to make any potential enemy underestimate the Force's size and strength. A more piercing look revealed at least three Sergeants in the shadows, casually leaning against walls and blending into their surroundings. As he watched, two of them shifted, turning their head in the slightest motion that pointed their ears in his direction. Sasuke's eye narrowed.

"Sure thing, Dobe," he replied, his voice carefully neutral. "But what do you say we get a smoke first?"  _Not in here, dumbass. Too many ears._

Sasuke was the only one in the room who caught Naruto's rolled eyes. "You know I don't smoke," he answered. They kept walking at their usual pace through the room, and Sasuke forced himself to relax. Naruto was too smart to give anything away. "I'm not sure why you do – wouldn't your brother kill you if he found out?"

Sasuke didn't miss the way the three guards stiffened at this, and he ground his teeth together to stop himself from attacking one of them and  _making_  them tell him what they knew about Itachi. Instead, he snorted in derision as they reached the door. "Do you really think he cares?" Sasuke retorted, pulling the handle and holding it open for the Uzumaki.

Naruto shrugged as he passed through. "I dunno. He's your bro, why don't you ask him yourself?"

Sasuke strode out after him, and the door shut with a quiet thud. The boy looked around him once more – two police on each side, and he bet there were at last four on the roof somewhere. He held back a growl of annoyance. "Do I ever talk to him?" he ground out, though to anyone else his voice probably would have sounded as dull and monotone as usual. Naruto gave him an amused look. He gestured to the left vaguely, and they both turned and started walking down the narrow sidewalk.

"Talk? No. Hiss, beg, and worship, yes, but not talk."

"I will castrate you," Sasuke stated.

"Take it easy there, Uchiha," a bored voice cut in.

The two stopped immediately, hands on their weapons automatically. They relaxed half a second later, recognizing the familiar figure slouched against the dirty beige wall with a lit cigarette dangling from the corner of his lips. He lifted a hand in mute greeting and pushed himself off the wall, joining the pair in a few slow steps.

"Shikamaru," Sasuke greeted, nodding. The Nara simply waved his hand lazily in return.

"Hey Shika," Naruto said, with considerably more enthusiasm. His joy diminished as he eyed the cigarette dubiously. "Why do you still have that?"

"Why do you still care?" the genius retorted. He tilted his head black to blow out a puff of smoke. "Are we going?"

Naruto and Sasuke shared a quick look before nodding, and the three of them set down a familiar path. They made it a block before Naruto muttered, "How long do you suppose they'll trail us?"

Sasuke closed his eyes as he walked, knowing the streets as well as he knew Naruto. "I think he's turning back now. Standard procedure to follow us for a block, but I don't think he'll come any further… yeah, there he goes."

Naruto breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and immediately darted into a back alleyway. Followed by his two companions, he slipped through the narrow street, the dark buildings stretching high above him and casting odd shadows on the dirty mud road. Trashcans and piles of broken glass lay outside the backdoors of several of the rooms, and the trio skirted around them easily, weaving through the filth of the back roads until they came out on a cleaner, well-lit street.

Shikamaru coughed as they emerged once more into the sunlight, shielding his eyes. "Why do we take that road, Naruto?" he asked in disgust. He looked over his shoulder, and Sasuke saw from the look in his eye that he had spotted the body in the corner.

"Faster," the blonde shrugged apathetically.

"And it loses most tracers," Sasuke added, giving Shikamaru a significant look. Naruto didn't notice those things anymore, not after a few years on the streets, and the lazy ass wouldn't make the boy think about them if Sasuke could help it – not when he took them that way for their own safety. Shikamaru stared him in the eye, one eyebrow cocked, as if he understood, but didn't want to. Naruto's voice interrupted their silent communication.

"Right; and since we need to confirm the details about tomorrow, we couldn't risk anyone following us." Naruto stopped walking abruptly and turned to face the other two men, blue eyes dark and electric. "Sasuke, I wanted to ask you earlier if you thought this would really work."

There was a moment pause as Sasuke's brain stumbled over the un-Naruto. Finally, though, the Uchiha just scoffed.

"Dumbass. Do you think I'd have agreed to it if I didn't believe so?"

Naruto nodded, a smile tempting his lips at the statement. "I thought so." He turned to Shikamaru, who had been distractedly blowing smoke rings into the air over their heads. "Shika, is there anything I should know now? Has any of the original situation changed?

"Nope." His dark eyes trailed down to meet Naruto's, and he gave the man a rare smile. "Everything is A-okay, Captain." One hand pulled out his cigarette and smeared the end on the building next to him, leaving a dark streak on the blue wall. He flicked the butt over his shoulder with a yawn as Naruto straightened, reveling in the news.

"I can't wait to see their faces," Naruto muttered darkly. "I bet they'll die from shock when they realize that not everyone in the city is willing to play into their hands." His eyes took on an angry gleam that Sasuke knew all too well.

"I know why we're doing this, Naruto," he said slowly, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "And you need to remember that this can't be a mission of revenge."

Naruto looked at him sharply, mouth halfway through the biting retort he had been about to say, when he shut it and looked away, shrugging off Sasuke's hand. He took a few steps before calling out, "I know that, Teme. Don't think I don't."

Sasuke looked blankly at Shikamaru, but somehow, his exasperation was evident. Shikamaru smirked and pulled another cigarette from his back pocket. He offered the pack to Sasuke, who shot a glance at Naruto's back before shaking his head.

"Good boy, Sasuke," Naruto purred.

"On second thought-" the Uchiha grabbed one of the cigarettes and clamped it firmly in his teeth, glaring at the Uzumaki. "Thanks, Shikamaru."

"No problem," the Nara replied, holding the flame to his second before Sasuke's.

"I hate your guts, Shika," Naruto said lightly, falling into step beside him.

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise held a straight face. "Really? And here I was, ready to give you details you so desperately need…." The pineapple-head took a long drag, blowing the smoke out of his nostrils and right into Naruto's face. The blonde coughed and shook his hand in front of his nose, but it didn't deter his excited smile.

"Did you get intel on who would be overseeing the final test?"

Shikamaru looked marginally pleased with himself, though it was hard to see with the cloud of smoke around him. "The second-in-command Hatake Kakashi, Special Investigations Division Captain, war-time General, and protégé of the last captain." Naruto perked up a bit at this, but Shikamaru continued as if he was reading off an official report. "Abilities and weapons are classified with my limited access. Whenever he proctors, the passing rate is lower than 10%."

Sasuke whistled low in his throat, and Naruto grunted in agreement to the unvoiced sentiment. It was no wonder the guy hadn't handled the test in the years that Naruto had been in the Academy. Anyone as strict as him would cut out a bunch of acceptable – if mediocre – policeman without a second thought, and the Captain probably thought they needed quantity over quality.

The blonde found himself liking this mysterious man more and more.

"I did some digging around my dad's and Asuma's office to find out why," Shikamaru added; "apparently, he changes his exam every year, and the only constant is that the test is always centered around teamwork."

There was a beat of silence between the trio, before Naruto laughed smugly and Sasuke smirked around the orange butt of his cigarette. "I can't fucking believe this. Is the universe  _actually_  doing something other than beating me into the ground every other second?" The blonde grinned and hollered loudly, making Shikamaru wince and Sasuke's expression relax a millimeter. "I'm going to kiss this Hatake when I see him."

"This will be even easier than I anticipated," the Uchiha gloated, as close as he would ever come to the Uzumaki's outbursts of joy. He nonchalantly took a drag, blowing the smoke over his right shoulder to save Naruto on his left. Naruto laughed in high spirits, putting his hands behind his head and beaming as he walked.

"Right," he called. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a stroke of good luck, and this was about as good as they came. "Good work, Shika. Have you told the others?"

"No," the Nara boy snorted incredulously. "I don't do communication; I do scouting. You take care of other  _people_  tomorrow." He shuddered at the word and stifled a yawn simultaneously, a combination that made Uchiha raise an eyebrow and Naruto hide a laugh. The blonde grinned foxishly and stuck his nose in the air.

"Don't tell your commanding officer what to do, Nara! Rule 26," he joked.

Shikamaru was unimpressed, eyeing Naruto lazily. "Do not assign all tasks to a single group member: rule 54," he retorted.

"Accept orders honorably – Rule number 8," Sasuke offered, easily slipping into the well-worn game. Shikamaru scowled at him, while Sasuke returned the glare with an arrogant sneer.

"Take orders from no one but your superiors, Rule 43; Trainees will neither be considered officers nor take on any responsibilities of one, Rule 91; Class position will have no bearing of Officer rank, Examination article 4, paragraph 6; and Naras will not be made to talk to  _people_  when they could be sleeping and have already done stupid orphans a favor… general law of the universe." Shikamaru yawned in triumph at his seamless argument and walked down a wide alley to his left in the direction of his apartment, raising a hand in farewell.

"Your photographic memory won't get you everywhere, lazy ass!" Naruto called after him, his insults good-natured.

Shikamaru didn't turn, merely pulled out yet another cigarette and brandished it over his shoulder in a mocking salute before lighting it with the smoldering tip of his last.

A moment passed in silence between the remaining two friends as they watched him go, Naruto muttering "Chain-smoker," like a curse, before they continued on their way.

"He did get you information," Sasuke reasoned, casually tossing his half-smoked cigarette into the street as a preemptive strike against an Uzurant, TM. "That's more than I expected."

"He's a good Lieutenant," Naruto agreed. He cast the Uchiha a side-long glance, not missing his last gesture. "Not quite so good as you, though," he added sincerely.

"I am not your Lieutenant, Dobe," Sasuke said coolly. He had a very complicated love-hate relationship with compliments, and especially with the Dobe's. Naruto didn't say nice things to him - he punched him, and it was better that way. The easiest solution to these rare situations, the Uchiha had found, was to return their conversation to situation normal with a well-placed inflammatory comment. He stuck his nose in the air for added effect. "I am your Commander."

"You wish, Teme!" Naruto cried, yanking a strand of Sasuke's infuriatingly unkept hair. "You know I'll be in first at the end of the test."

Sasuke hid his triumph with a pitying look, akin to one a person might give a mangy street dog. Naruto glowered at him, cursing how tall the black-haired boy was and how short he was doomed to be. Sasuke tossed his head back another centimeter, knowing that look in Naruto's eyes, and reveling in his superiority. "Your dreams are hopeless, Naruto. There's no way you could beat me. Even if you did manage to somehow come close to my talent, which would never happen, you know the Police would refuse to acknowledge it."

Naruto's stride slowed until he had stopped walking, his face cast into the shadow of his matted hair as he glared at the cracked and unkept sidewalk. Sasuke halted immediately when he sensed this and spun around, running over the words he had just said in his mind. He inwardly cursed himself, realizing that mentioning the Police Force's innate and inexplicable hatred of Naruto would set the boy off more than he had intended if he had been ignoring his medication. Anger welled up him. Did the blonde think that no one cared about him? Did he want to stay sick for the rest of his life? And honestly, he could at least do Sasuke the courtesy of  _trying_ to take them, so he wouldn't have to deal with this emotional pendulum from hell.

It was Naruto's own fault he was a psychological mess, Sasuke told himself. These kind of outbreaks were going to get him killed one day, and Sasuke wouldn't take them blame for it.

So why did he feel guilty?

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

Naruto felt the black cloud of depression swirling around him and tried to fend it off, but all he could see were images of officers with guns, the side of a barrel, the toes of a metal-tipped combat boot-

Hatred and anger and despair boiled through him, though he knew it wasn't directed at the man in front of him. It was directed at the world at large, and most of all the Police Force. Those that had been entrusted with protecting the city, who controlled the figurehead of a mayor no one had ever seen and whose name was rarely ever spoken, who thought they ran some sort of military dictatorship outside of the control of the Council and did a damn good job of making that delusion a reality. Those that were supposed to be keeping the streets clean from crime, not turning crime into a high-handed game of not getting caught.

Those that were supposed to be saving children, not doing everything in their power to hurt them for the sake of an undeserved grudge.

One day, Naruto swore, he would find out the reason why every man who wore a uniform and a badge thought he personally was the scum of the earth and was set on spilling his guts. He had done nothing against them, and they still hated him and revered Sasuke like the son of God himself. It wasn't fucking fair. Naruto did everything, tried so hard to be a success, and all Sasuke had to do was say his name for them to fall on their knees before him. He wanted to look Sasuke in the eye right now and tell him that his money and his father were the best thing that had ever happened to him.

But Sasuke didn't hate him. And life wasn't fair. And Sasuke did try hard, though his efforts were rewarded tenfold. So why bother?

"Naruto?" For once, the rich bastard sounded hesitant.

Stifling a sigh, Naruto looked up with a wild grin. It was a carefully cultivated thing – it made closing his eyes seem natural, and not a way to hide his true emotions behind an optimistic mask. "You're right," he mourned. "Why are you always right?" He took a few steps until he was shoulder-to-shoulder with his friend once more. "But that doesn't mean you're the boss of me! Even if you won… well, according to the plan, it wouldn't really matter, would it?" He opened his eyes and turned to continue down the street, hoping his expression was back to normal enough that the Uchiha wouldn't comment. He couldn't keep it steady like the other boy – on good days, he wore his heart on his sleeve, and more often it was tattooed on his forehead in blazing red letters and neon lights. The only solution was to get away from people who would actually care when they saw it, which tallied a thankful few, Sasuke at the top. They'd be to the corner of the bastard's goddamn mansion soon enough, and then Naruto could leave and go back to the station's tiny, crummy housing complex. He could be alone, and work on his inventions, and wallow in self-pity and depression. It seemed unusually appealing.

"Dobe. Do you think you fool me?"

Naruto stopped. All his desperate pleas to be unnoticed - or was it just to be noticed by someone else for a change? - were broken. He turned around, and his expressionless face made Sasuke falter.

"I certainly try."

The way Sasuke stopped what he had been about to say, choking on his words, made Naruto at once guilty and pleased. It seemed he was getting better at hiding his true emotions all the time.

He didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that the Uchiha mansion would be right behind him, across the wide and paved street. He brushed past Sasuke on his way 'home'.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke called after him.

He knew it had been what he was hoping for, and he cursed himself for being so weak and predictable, but he still turned around. He plastered on a look of annoyance. "What is it, bastard?"

Sasuke pulled on the hem of his shirt absently for a moment, but eventually looked Naruto in the eye. "Take your meds, okay? And come over if you get hungry."

"I can eat at my house, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto spat, with more vehemence than he really felt.

"We're having homemade Ramen," Sasuke retorted, crossing his arms and raising one eyebrow. "Itachi's cooking."

Naruto just huffed and walked away. When he reached the corner, he yelled, "I might."

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

Naruto scrubbed his eyes tiredly, glancing at the watch perpetually on the inside of his wrist. 2:16. He yawned despite himself and combed his fingers through dirty golden spikes. One glance down confirmed his niggling suspicion that he had yet to change out of his bloody shirt and sweat-soaked pants, but he couldn't muster the energy to get up and remedy that fact. He stifled a yawn and looked down at the plans he had been drawing up, the neat blue lines running together as his vision blurred.

 _Sleep,_  a voice – which sounded suspiciously like Sasuke bossing him around, the bastard – ordered him. Naruto mentally sneered at its nagging,  _You need sleep._ The boy stood and unceremoniously dropped his pen on the drawings scattering his desk.

 _Sleep is for the weak,_ he growled at the voice, uncaring that he was arguing with himself. He turned lazily, nearly tripping over his desk chair, and stumbled out of the room.  _I need coffee._

He clomped down the narrow hallway to the apartment's tiny half kitchen, not bothering to turn on any lights to illuminate the path he knew by heart. He leaned against the fridge as he reached over it to open the cupboard, rummaging blindly over his head for the open bag of cheap Kroger's coffee. His hand unexpectedly hit something cold and plastic and knocked it onto his head. He swore darkly and rubbed his skull as his sharp eyes tried to find the mysterious object in the unlit room. After a moment, they fixed on a small cylinder that had rolled against the pantry door a few feet away.

He froze.

In the stillness, a car passed outside the drawn shades of the kitchen window behind him, the lights briefly filtering over the tiles and whispering on the white and blue label. The sound of tires and an old engine faded gradually. Naruto stared. Very slowly, as if he approached a dangerous animal, he walked over and picked up the bottle, gently cradling it in one hand, and placed it back in the cupboard. A moment later he pushed it back as far as his arm would reach. He closed the wood door softly, quest for caffeine easily forgotten. His forehead pushed against the freezer handle and he tried to breathe, the almost painful pressure keeping him grounded and firmly in place in his apartment.

He was fine here. He was safe. Nothing could hurt him. The whole fucking Police Squad was a block away-

_Tick._

" _You little monster! You better run faster, or I'm going to catch you, and you're gonna wish you had never escaped from whatever hell you came from!"_

_Tock._

" _Son of a bitch! Just who do you think you are?"_

_Tick._

_Naruto picked up his pace, tiny legs carrying him away from the soldiers as fast as possible. He clutched the loaf of fresh, warm bread against his chest, uncaring that that put it in direct contact with the grimy oversized t-shirt that may have been orange at one point long in its history. It was fresh out of the campfire, the edges black and radiating heat into his effete frame, and it felt_ _**so good** _ _. His stomach roiled at the thought of how full he would be if he actually got to eat the_ _**whole thing.** _ _He cradled it tighter, afraid that it might slip from his hands._

_Tock._

_The boy struggled not to trip as his stomach jumped painfully. He shrugged it off, considering he was starving; he would rebel too, if he were his stomach. Not to mention it had every reason to be as stressed as he was. He heard the adults behind him as they splashed through the puddles that were quickly turning the back alley into mud, and redoubled his efforts. He couldn't be caught. Not this time._

_He shuddered at the memory of the last time he had dared to steal food from them. He knew soldiers were violent, but they seemed to reserve a special hatred just for him._

' _It's because I'm a filthy street urchin,' the boy thought. He fought the urge to cry at how unfair it all was. 'It's not like it's my fault my parents abandoned me.'_

_Tick._

_Naruto's stomach leaped into his throat once more and he tripped over a stone that was hidden under the murky surface of the thin mud. He went sprawling onto the street, face buried into the ground and arms thrown apart. The bread flew several feet away and far out of his reach, and immediately he felt the absence of its warmth as cold settled in its place, bone-deep and familiar. He tried to pick himself up to reach it and get away, to hold it once more and feel warm and happy and full, but a cruel foot pushed him back down, and he tasted dirt and water and blood and salty tears-_

A thin blueish light from a streetlamp outside gave vague shapes to the furniture around him as he opened his eyes. A drop of sweat fell off his chin. Naruto breathed in once and blinked, before pushing himself off the fridge and feeling his heart thud against the weak constraints of his ribs with a painful rhythm. He swallowed hard and breathed out. A moment passed.

He hung his head with a hiss.

"Fuck."

Half an hour later, Naruto was standing near a familiar clean counter, the beat of yellowish fluorescent lights harsh against his sensitive pupils. His fingers tapped on the black linoleum idly, unfocused eyes not really noting his surroundings. It was almost a surprise when a steaming mug of double-shot chocolate expresso was clasped into his hands by a smaller, softer pair. He shook himself awake enough to register his situation and remember where he was, looking down into the depths of the saving liquid as its heat spread through his hands. He lifted it almost subconsciously and breathed in its scent, smiling in ecstasy, all before his foggy mind could register the texture of the mug.

"I ordered to go," he mumbled petulantly, and still gripped the mug tightly.

"And I ordered to stay," the pretty girl countered, watching his fingers with a smirk. She walked around the island that separated them in a few quick steps and stood in front of him, arms crossed under her generous chest. She watched him intently until Naruto's fazed mind could puzzle out what she was waiting for and lift the mug to his lips. He took a large gulp, his eyes never leaving her face, knowing the girl was just waiting for approval of her drink, and she wasn't going to get i-

His eyelids fluttered in bliss at the glorious, chocolatey caffeine despite himself. "Well… damn, I couldn't just leave this beauty behind…" he conceded, with an inward hopeless laugh. Ino grinned victoriously.

"Untie me?" she purred. She beamed and turned around invitingly, making Naruto sigh. He stared blearily at her back, not entirely sure what he was expected to do. As she shifted impatiently with a quiet huff, something in her hair caught the light. Naruto blinked once, sure he had imagined it, only for her blonde ponytail to twinkle as she fidgeted again. He leaned forward and picked the source of the light from her silky locks, finding it to be a thick piece of tinted glass. His expression darkened.

"Ino, what is this?"

"Just untie the apron, dipshit," the girl snapped, not turning to look.

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, looked at the shard in his hand, and shut it again. He swallowed a sigh and picked at the knot tied in the strings of her cheery purple apron until it came apart, tossing the now-freed ropes of fabric over her shoulder.

"Do it yourself next time," he sneered, though he wasn't entirely upset at the girl. She wasn't all that bad, though like Sakura she grew totally intolerable around Sasuke-teme. Still, she was a generally warm-hearted person under her biting tongue and overbearingly flirtatious nature. As if to prove his point, she scoffed at his comment and pulled the apron over her head, being sure to make the motion as sensual as possible. Her long-sleeved white shirt stretched over strong, carefully honed muscles as she lifted her arms, her short black skirt hiking up another inch. Naruto watched her, torn between enjoying the sight and being annoyed with her antics. She finally tossed the apron on the floor a little ways away and turned to shoot him a seductive look, but seeing his unreadable face and desperate one-handed hold on his coffee, she grabbed his arm and steered him – if none-too-gently – to one of the comfortable café tables. She slipped into a seat and regarded him with unusually worried eyes.

"Sit down, Naru," she ordered. He hesitated, but eventually relaxed and sank into the chair across from her, tossing the glass shard over her head and into the trash can and setting the hot coffee on the table. He scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, feeling Ino watch the motion with dangerous care. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically gentle.

"I'm fine," he replied automatically.

Ino shot him a withering look.

Naruto found himself returning it with a raised eyebrow, noting that there was a speck of dried blood on her forehead, at the edge of her hairline.

He didn't comment. A beat passed in silence.

"You're… fine." An icicle held more warmth than her frigid, sarcastic voice.

"Yeah, got a problem with that?" he hissed, blue eyes narrow. "I'm fi…" he trailed off, all his anger suddenly dissipating at the hurt look she quickly tried to hide. Though Naruto hardly considered her a good friend, the two had known each other their whole lives, from the time they were old enough to say their ABC's the Cardinal Rules of the Police Force. They were comrades and teammates, and she had served as a valuable informant on more than one occasion – usually when Naruto needed intel in more devious ways than Shikamaru was willing to carry out. She was kind to him, if in her own way, and had always trusted him with her own secrets. Naruto's thoughts went to the shard of glass and his eyes subconsciously focused on the blood that marred her pale skin. Disregarding the fact that Naruto hated seeing his classmates hurt by  _anyone,_  he knew Ino. She was the most manipulative person he had ever met and had the human psyche mapped in and out on the back of her pretty manicured hand. To her, information was a commodity to be traded, not given away – which was why she made her money and her escape at the popular café. If he wanted to know anything about her situation, he'd have to spill his own troubles first.

Resigned, Naruto held a glare in check. Somehow, he wouldn't be surprised if that flicker of betrayal in her eyes had been meticulously orchestrated.

"…tired," he sighed. He massaged his temples and dragged his fingers down his face, tugging at the skin on his cheeks wearily. Shaking his head, he shifted his hands enough to set his gaze on her, watching as she stared at him for a long moment with unreadable eyes.

"Drink your coffee," she suddenly barked. "…And tell me."

He complied, too weary to protest and too in love with her coffee to want to. He drained half the mug in one gulp, swallowing hard as the scalding liquid burned down his throat. He felt energy buzz into him as likely unhealthy amounts of caffeine surged though his veins and stared at the white ceramic like it might hold some answers for him.

"What's to tell?" he asked bitterly, setting down the mug on the smeared fake marble with an audible tap. Ino rolled her eyes.

"How about why you came here at-" she glanced at the watch on her wrist with a dry smile – "3:40 in the morning?"

"I wanted to get out of the house," he answered vaguely, if only to withhold the satisfaction of immediate answers. His blue eyes narrowed, honed in on crimson caught in gold yet again. "And how about you?" he asked, too casual.

"Same here." She met his gaze steadily, glossed lips hitched up oddly in one corner, waiting like a predator that liked to play with its food. Naruto stared right back, but he knew there was no avoiding the inevitable if he wanted to quench his curiosity about that damned spot. Fair trade of information was necessary for any stable conversation with the girl. He knew when to cut his losses, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Wench," he spat. Ino tilted her head and beamed at the title that only signified her victory, the absolute picture of innocence. Naruto rolled his eyes at her and set his elbow on the mottled table, cradling his head in the hand and pulling on his hair absently. He breathed out and tapped his foot against the stool absently.

"Sasuke-teme reminded me of my meds earlier today. Then I saw them when I went to make coffee an hour or so ago. I… I guess I panicked. I couldn't stay in there anymore. So I came here for my fix instead." He tried to ignore the blush on his cheeks.

It sounded so  _stupid_ when he said it like that.

But then, she could never know how much that innocent-looking bottle terrified him.

Caught in his own thoughts, it took Naruto almost a full minute to realize that Ino hadn't said anything and was staring at the table with unfocused eyes. Concern flooded through him and he leaned forward, a tan hand grabbing her arm in an iron but comforting grip. "Ino?"

"He called me a bitch," she said quietly. Naruto flinched, drawing his hand away automatically, taken aback at the sudden change in her manner more than the words. She had stopped sitting up straight and exuding an atmosphere of gorgeous perfection; hunched over and curled in on herself, she seemed small, alone, and afraid. The pretty blonde continued, not noticing his reaction. She lifted her untouched hand from her knee and pretended to examine her perfect nails emotionlessly, but her blank expression only belied that she was caught in the memory. "Used my ponytail to throw me into a wall. I kneed him in the balls when he came over, then ran. He threw the bottle after me. Hit me in the back of my head and shattered. I thought I had picked all the glass out and washed out most of the blood…" She listed everything clinically, as if it didn't affect her after all the years of similar events, glaring at him as if she was somehow cursing him for noticing her mistake. "Guess not."

Naruto felt his jaw clench and eyes twitch dangerously. "How bad is it?" he ground out.

Ino laughed and twirled a strand of long blonde hair with an aimless smile that didn't touch her eyes. "Fine," she answered. Naruto was halfway to arguing when she added sweetly, "Isn't that what you always say?"

Naruto swallowed the comment he had been about to make. Ino gave him a piercing smirk, like she had already known, her eyes as sharp as shattered glass. The boy glared back and downed the rest of his coffee to wash down the bile in his mouth, never breaking eye contact.

"I'm going to kill him one day," he said simply.

"No, you're not." Ino's voice was cheerful, despite the blood on her face. She flipped her ponytail preppily and stood with a slightly crazed smile that, to any other customer, would have seemed bright and welcoming. It grew a little wider as she continued, "That's my job."

Naruto looked up at her, eyeing her lithe frame and sharp gaze, the way she moved smoothly in her two inch black stilettos, as if gauging her strength. Finally, he nodded in approval and stood as well.

"Thanks for the coffee, Ino," he said sincerely, a clear sign that their brief interlude was over. The empty mug hung limply from one hand. "It was exactly what I needed. You always know. I'm sorry to wake you up so late - or uh, early I guess. Sleeping in the back again?"

"Yeah, I am, and I was awake anyway." She picked up her apron from where it had been discarded on the floor, disappearing once more behind the counter and through the kitchen doors. Her head reappeared around the corner just long enough to say, "Don't thank me - thank Sasuke... when you see him." And just like that, she vanished into the depths of the cafe without a word of goodbye.

Naruto stood numbly at her departure, face twisted in a grimace of confusion. "Sasuke?" he muttered to himself. "The hell does Teme-"

Lights flashed behind him, accompanied by the familiar near-silent whir of a well-tuned engine. Naruto groaned.


	4. Cats On Mars

**Disclaimer:**  I own no characters and make no money off of this story; all the ridiculous amounts of income for the Naruto Franchise go to Kishimoto. I do however own this plot, and the inventions that I create for this story.

Warnings: Language, violence

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_The hot sun pressed against his face, settling like a physical weight on his pale skin. He felt it drying, cracking, blistering, but couldn't shift. His tongue felt swollen and dry in his mouth, his eyes caked with sand and grit. Dried blood and sweat tugged uncomfortably on his hair. He made an effort to blink, the most movement his body could manage._

_What had happened? His mind idly tried to work its way back through his memories to find how he had come to be lying here, but the last thing he could remember was the rush of soldiers and the endless screams of battle. A flurry of images, then nothing. He sighed, warm breath slipping over chapped lips._

_And what had come to be of his father, and the war? The boy wished he knew. Had the Resistance won, or had they been defeated? They had seemed to have the upper hand, though that was mostly due to his own effort – and if he had been subdued, there was no telling how the rest of their division had fared._

_Suddenly, he stiffened. His brother and sister, where were they? He tried harder, pressing his mind for any hint of their condition or whereabouts. Nothing._

_What if they had been injured? What if they were dying now, just as he was, the desert sucking their life away? What if they were already dead?_

_His vision hazed with red at the thought, and he pushed himself to his knees out of desperation alone. The movement caused him to double over with racking coughs, his dry lungs violently protesting the effort he had expended. Each breath raked against his throat like sandpaper, and it was all he could do to catch himself on his fists. He gasped raggedly._

_Don't complain, body, he growled at himself. It doesn't matter if I kill myself doing it, I_ _**just need to know where they are!** _

_He lifted his head, dirty red hair slipping into his light green eyes and offering some pathetic shade against the harsh glare of the sun. His arms and neck shook with the effort, but he pushed himself to stay upright. He cast his gaze around him, barely noting his huge machine gun lying discarded on the ground beside him. The flag he had carried was nowhere to be seen – but was that because it had been stolen, or carried farther? He didn't care. The battleground was a sea of motionless bodies, nothing moving or breathing or making a sound._

_Let them be okay, he prayed fervently. Let them be far away in the capital!_

_Just as his shaking arms failed him, he saw a familiar head of four blonde ponytails beside a mop of unruly brown hair, the bodies fallen on top of each other not far away. His head slammed against the rough sand again, but the pain barely registered. His brother and sister… they were here. They were injured, not moving-_

_A sob tried to tear its way through his frail body, but his mouth was so parched it was silent when it finally escaped._

_His eyes were too dry to even cry._

_Where's father when we need him, he asked the world viciously. Where's the goddamn needle now?!_

_He slipped into darkness before he could see a jeep pull up to the battlefield, dented and worn, and two men in green uniforms step out and walk among the bodies._

_-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-_

Sasuke hadn't said anything for five minutes, driving with his usual calm skill. The streets were unusually quiet, the houses and stores that blurred by dark and motionless. Finally, Naruto couldn't stand it anymore, hitting a fist against the dash and turning to glare at the Uchiha. "I said I would come over if I needed anything, you jackass. I don't need to be watched like some goddamn puppy."

Sasuke shifted in the driver's seat. Though Naruto could only see him every few seconds they passed under a streetlight, he knew that the Uchiha was looking at him out of the corner of his eye. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice, dobe."

"Thanks for what?" Naruto spat. "For spying on me, for waking up a girl who really needs her sleep, for picking me up like some fucking stalker?"

"I didn't spy on you. I came by to drop off food and tell you to go to sleep, because I knew you'd still be up working in that fetid room of yours. Yet just when I turned onto your block, you walk out the front door. I knew where you would be going and figured Ino would prefer a call from  _me_  at three in the morning than you – and she was awake anyway."

"I hate you."

"Yeah, sure."

Naruto leaned his head against the back of the seat and the window, the cold glass calming him. He let his eyes close, though after the amount of coffee he had ingested he was anything but tired. A few minutes passed as Sasuke slipped down the dark, carless streets at precisely the speed limit. Naruto listened to the quiet whir of the wheels and felt the car vibrate against his skull. He knew Sasuke wasn't driving him back to the Police apartment complex.

Sasuke tapped his long fingers against the wheel absently, and Naruto heard his unkept black hair brush against the leather seat in a way that signaled he was looking his way.  _You okay?_

Naruto hummed quietly and let a brief smile cross his features.  _Yeah._

Suddenly, Sasuke tensed. "Shit," he swore under his breath. Naruto sat straight up.

"What?"

The Uchiha glanced in the rearview mirror, and Naruto saw the faint glow of distant headlights. "We're being trailed."

Naruto chewed his bottom lip for a moment, thinking. "Who?" he finally asked.

Sasuke spared a moment to look over his shoulder, the blue light reflecting eerily off of his glasses. He let out a low growl in his throat as he returned his eyes to the road, scowling. "Huh, guess my telepathy is failing me, cause  _stuck from the driver's seat_  I have no clue."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Do we pretend we don't see them?"

"They're gaining on us. It would have been hard not to have noticed them by now."

"So then… do we lose 'em, or stay cool?" Sasuke was silent for a moment, hesitating. Naruto considered. "Maybe they know about the plan," he added softly.

"Maybe they don't," Sasuke retorted. "And if they don't, speeding up in only going to look suspicious." Sasuke raked a hand through his hair with a sigh, shooting a look over his shoulder at the car that had pulled up right behind them. "Maybe they don't even know who we are."

Naruto pursed his lips, glancing down at his bloody shirt and realizing Ino hadn't even commented on his attire.  _Why didn't she remind me I look like a fucking murderer?_ Naruto let out a frustrated sigh and slipped his hand into his sweats' pocket, running a finger along the edge of the chained blade and weighing his choices. None were particularly appealing.

 _Don't risk it today, Naruto,_ his inner voice said.  _Not when you're so close._

The blonde let out an even breath. "I guess we stay the same," he finally decided.

Just as Sasuke was about to nod, the rearview mirror exploded in a flash of red and blue. Naruto groaned and slammed his forehead against the dashboard as Sasuke swore loudly, pulling over.

"I look like I should be in jail," the blonde muttered petulantly, hearing the car behind them slow down and come to a stop.

"Maybe if you had taken a shower when you got home!" Sasuke hissed lowly. "You disgusting piece of-"

"Anyone," Naruto mumbled. "Could have been  _anyone,_  and it just  _had_  to be the fucking  _Police."_

"Get your head up," Sasuke ordered quickly. "He's coming."

A tap came on Sasuke's window, followed by the blinding brightness of a flashlight on their faces. The Uchiha obligingly rolled it down, putting on his most polite face. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked coolly.

Naruto seized the opportunity to examine the officer as the older man smiled at Sasuke – a rather unconvincing smile, considering the only sign of it was the upturning of his eyes. The entire lower half of his face was covered in a black cloth mask, its severity in stark contrast to the mop of silver hair that was swept up to one side. He wore the standard green jacket of the Police uniform, but with no visible designations of rank. Naruto's eyes narrowed briefly before he turned his attention back to the man's face.

He only grinned when he saw the cold black stare fixed on him silently, unable to interpret a single emotion in the bottomless gaze. "How much hair gel do you go through in a week?" he asked brightly.

Lazy eyes grazed over his attire. "I'd ask the same of your detergent."

Naruto blinked once in surprise. He tried not to laugh, but couldn't help himself. "Not bad, old man," he snickered. In the corner of his vision, Sasuke buried his head in his hand.

The officer tilted his head with a cheery look, gaze sweeping over the two friends. "My first impression of you is that I hate you," he stated, out of nowhere.

Unperturbed, Naruto beamed widely and leaned closer to the driver side. "That's great. At the moment, I'm not particularly fond of you either. Don't mind Shiniqua, he hates everyone at first sight. Usually with good reason." He patted the Uchiha's shoulder companionably, inwardly dying at the pained expression that crossed over 'Shiniqua's' face.

"Do you have a reason for pulling us over?" Sasuke suddenly interjected, voice frigid as he shook off Naruto's hand and lifted his head to glare at the older man. "I was going exactly the speed limit, and observing all traffic laws besides."

"Good. Keep doing so." The officer straightened with another fake smile, revealing how tall he really was. Naruto's hand shifted in his pocket, and Sasuke's hand lifted off the wheel a centimeter warily. The mask on the officer's face twisted as though he was smiling, or maybe grimacing, and he took a step away from the odd pair. "Have a good night boys," he called, nodding shortly before moving back to his own car. The siren shut off as he climbed in and the vehicle noiselessly pulled away, disappearing in the opposite direction.

Naruto and Sasuke sat quietly for a moment after his departure.

"He didn't give us a reason," Sasuke finally said flatly.

"He didn't give us anything," Naruto agreed in a low growl. "No name, no ID number, not even a rank on his uniform."

"He could be a spy."

"Against us, or the Police?"

"We're on the same team, Naruto."

"For the time being." Seeing Sasuke's look, the blonde quickly added, "Either is a distinct possibility, but I'm not willing to chase him down and see… at least not tonight. Besides, he seemed too confident."

"He didn't even flinch at your outfit," Sasuke thought aloud. "Either he's a street rat dressed up or he's had officer training, and from the way he held himself I'd go for the latter."

"Some 'street rats' can pull off the Police act just fine," Naruto muttered to himself. Sasuke's small frown was proof he'd heard, and satisfying enough. He cleared his throat and spoke up. "I agree. And despite his grey hair, I don't think he was old enough to need those reading glasses in his jacket pocket." Naruto's eyes darkened as they met Sasuke's. "In fact," he said slowly, "considering the way he looked at us, all fake smiles and stiff shoulders, I'd hazard a guess they weren't  _reading_  glasses at all."

The words sank in. Sasuke chewed on the information. "Surely, no matter who he is, he would have known our identities before pulling us over." The raven-haired boy pinned Naruto with a dry look. "Fake names weren't necessary," he drawled.

"Maybe. If he did, he certainly wasn't interested in me, Shiniqua," Naruto suggested, as off-handedly as possible.

Sasuke cocked one eyebrow, ever so slowly. "I think we should get home," he said, each word deliberate.

Naruto nodded. "And tell Itachi when he wakes up," he agreed. "See if he knows anything useful."

"He will," Sasuke said, voice unusually soft. "He always does." Coal eyes fixed unnervingly ahead as he pulled away from the curb. Noticing the worried glance shot from the passenger seat, he smiled lightly. "Until then we get some sleep."

"Ramen first," Naruto said firmly, a grin twitching on his face.

"Fine." Sasuke gave in unusually quickly, a sigh his only protest. None of the expected, 'Coffee and ramen, what a diet for the gods,' or 'Breakfast of champions, dumbass.' Naruto was silent for several minutes, thoughts drifting from the strange 'officer' to his eventful night to the upcoming exam and back to Sasuke.

"Did  _we_ give anything away?" he muttered, forehead wrinkled in thought.

Sasuke snorted. "Other than you're a total moron, I doubt it." The stiffness in his voice belied his words.

"And you're not going to ask me why I left my house?" the blonde questioned nonchalantly.

Sasuke eyes slid over to him, considering, then back to the road. He smirked. "If it's important, I figure you'll let me know."

Naruto shook his head with a small laugh. Typical Uchiha confidence.

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

"Anything?"

"Uzumaki had blood all over him, and dried sweat. Uchiha didn't have a mark on him."

"Interesting… did you see where they came from? Perhaps Uzumaki was involved in a fight."

"They came from a little café in the center of town. No one else was there. Besides, it looked hours old. From this morning, maybe early afternoon."

"The exams perhaps? Check his report."

"Yessir."

"Where were they going?"

"The Uchiha mansion, sir, unless I'm mistaken." His tone made it clear how likely he thought that was.

"Any information on why they were together? Reports show the two are not on friendly terms." The voice hinted at laughter.

"No sir."

"Why they were out so late, then?"

"No."

A quiet scoff. "When I asked 'anything', I meant 'anything useful'."

Hatake Kakashi's black eyes were slightly glazed, as if his thoughts were elsewhere. He tried to keep his voice firm when he replied, "Have you ever seen Uzumaki, sir?"

"Not since-" the voice abruptly stopped. "Why?"

"He looks exactly like his father." He tried to ignore how the radio shook in his hand.

There was a pause on the other end before the familiar crackle broke the silence. "Very well. Dismissed, Kakashi."

"Roger." He went to set the radio down gratefully and started the car engine when the soft voice spoke up again.

"Go home and sleep. That's an order."

A muscle worked in Kakashi's jaw. He picked up the radio again, pulling his car away from the shadow from which he had watched the odd pair sit in the darkness after his conversation with them. What they were talking about, he wished he knew. It took an odd amount of effort to mumble a "Yes sir" and turn the vehicle away.

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

When Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the station the next morning after a nearly sleepless night and, on Naruto's part, a long, hot shower, it was buzzing with whispers.

"What do you suppose they're talking about?" Naruto asked his companion in a hushed voice. For once, all eyes hadn't turned to the top two students when they walked into the classroom. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly.

"I just got here too, dobe." Black eyes flicked around the room. "Ino."

The room momentarily quieted at the unusual summon, but quickly returned to its busy state. The blonde bounced out of her chair and hurried to Sasuke's side, all but gluing herself to him automatically.

"What do you need, darling?" she purred. "Anything." She looked at Naruto briefly. "Hey Naruto. Good to see you're alive." Her attention immediately turned back to Sasuke with a look of adoration.

Naruto stifled a giggle at the way Sasuke's lip curled. "Tell me the news," the Uchiha ordered with thinly veiled contempt.

"You haven't heard?" she gushed incredulously. "That civil war in that tiny little country down south finally came to a head! There was a huge battle not far from the border."

Naruto and Sasuke shared an intrigued look.

"Who won?" Naruto asked.

Ino pursed her lips. "No one is sure. It was hard to tell the bodies apart by the time Patrol Squad got there, so they couldn't say for certain which side had suffered more casualties, or who had retreated or advanced. There were no flags either." She rolled her eyes. "Or at least that's the story the superiors are feeding. I wouldn't be surprised if Black Ops or SID was involved."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I'll admit that that's interesting, but it's certainly not enough to get the whole class talking, especially with so little information."

Satisfaction flashed over Ino's face. "That's not the whole story. Out of everyone, Patrol Squad only found three survivors. Two boys, one girl."

"Don't tell me they-"

"Brought them here," Sasuke sighed, finishing Naruto's sentence. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Do the idiots never learn?"

"Don't judge prematurely, Sasuke," Ino pouted cutely. "These are trained soldiers we're talking about, and they're no older than you or I. Not to mention, I heard down the line from Shizune that the smallest was the first to wake, saw the other two, and refused to leave their bedsides. Rumor is they look nothing alike, but he acts like they're his brother and sister. On top of that, he hasn't said anything about the battle, and they were all so dehydrated and wounded that it should have taken days of IV infusions for them to even wake up."

"I don't like the sound of that," Naruto mumbled so only Sasuke could hear. "What made the little guy bounce back so quickly?"

Sasuke nodded slightly, but turned back to Ino when she gave him an impatient slap on the shoulder. " _Meaning_ ," she continued, stressing the word like she was insulted his attention had been diverted from her, "if they remember anything, which I doubt, then they'll hate their pathetic little country and the general of their division for nearly killing their siblings. If they don't remember anything, they're a blank slate with battle experience. Either way, they're an unexpected asset to the Force. It would have been a waste to throw them away."

Sasuke considered this with an expressionless mask. "I see your point," he conceded, unfazed by her casual phrasing of letting injured die in the field.

Ino beamed and looked about to force a make-out session on the Uchiha. Naruto decided to step in before an exhausted Sasuke lost his patience.

"Not everyone can draw those… insightful conclusions like you can, Ino-chan," he said, going for complimentary to draw her away from the raven-haired celebrity. "I'm still confused why everyone is so excited by this."

Ino just rolled her eyes and took a step away from Sasuke like they were clueless children. "You haven't heard their descriptions," she said, like that explained everything, and flounced back to her seat with a high-pitched giggle.

The two boys shared a confused look. "What the hell does that mean?" Sasuke muttered.

"Like I know," Naruto returned.

"Alright everyone, sit down and shut up!" Iruka yelled his normal greeting as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Naruto and Sasuke obligingly made their way to their seats in the back of the room as the other students shuffled into their places. "As you are all well aware, today you will be participating in the final two graduation exams. As some of you may not know, due to the unusual duration of some sparring sessions yesterday-" Iruka fixed his eyes on Naruto and Sasuke, who tried not to look pleased " –we will be finishing that exam before beginning the other two. I'm not going to waste all of our time going over what they are and who has yet to go, so I hope you got a good night's sleep and are properly prepared."

Sasuke shot Naruto a dry look, and the blonde shrugged apologetically.

"Due to… unexpected circumstances arising yesterday afternoon-" a spattering of whispers exploded at these words, and Iruka glared the room into silence again- "you will have ten minutes before the exams begin. Stay in the room, don't make too much noise, and if anyone gets hurt I will personally escort the guilty parties to the Captain's office.  _Do I make myself clear?_ "

Naruto rolled his eyes at Iruka's antics, and Sasuke looked at their teacher with a faintly amused smirk. When no one protested, Iruka nodded. He opened his mouth to give a parting order when the door opened and a familiar head of spiky purple hair popped in with a twisted grin.

"'Ello, kiddies," Anko leered. "I heard the commotion and thought I'd stop by. Just so you all know, you are absolutely  _forbidden_ to bust your way into the hospital wing and peek in on our injured visitors… no matter how hot they may be. And I mean forbidden of the punishment kind, not the 'do it because I just told you not to'." She winked conspiratorially.

"You're just saying that because you got to carry them back, and you don't want to share." Ino stuck out her tongue at the older woman and got a good-natured scowl in reply.

"Bet your cute ass on it, blondy," Anko grinned. "But you'll all get your chances soon enough." She looked at Iruka, who had his eyes focused on the ceiling as if in a silent prayer for patience. "You comin', Scarface?"

Naruto watched Iruka hold back his sigh with admirable self-control. "Yes, of course." He swept one last glare over the classroom. "Be good, children." With that, he stalked out of the room, following the witty Patrol Squad Vice Captain down the hall.

The moment the door closed behind them the room exploded with chatter once more. Sasuke turned to Naruto with a pained look.

"We have ten minutes," Naruto said, amused. "Wanna get away from the intolerable gossipers?"

"If you're thinking about going where I think you're thinking, no."

It took Naruto a moment to sort through the sentence, but when he had, his grin turned feral. "Not up for a little mischief, teme?"

"Count me out. I'm taking a nap." He laid his head down on the desk stubbornly as if to prove his point. Naruto leaned over so his lips were by his ear.

"You'd really fall asleep for  _ten whole minutes_  when your fangirls are already so hyper they don't know what to do with themselves?"

Sasuke twitched. Naruto knew he only needed another little push.

"We'll have top of the line intel before anyone else, and if we play our cards right, they'll be none the wiser. It can be our own little graduation test – get caught, we fail it."

Sasuke shifted his head to peer into sparkling blue eyes. "How do you have so much energy, dobe?" he mumbled. "You only slept for an hour."

"Come oonnnn!" Naruto coaxed quietly.

"Nara is in charge of our intel. Plus Ino, but she's already given us what she knows."

"You know Shika's too lazy to sneak out and spy on the newcomers for a bit of fun."

"So am I. Go away."

"Fine," Naruto sighed dramatically, pulling away. "I'll just do it alone, I suppose."

He stood up and walked towards the edge of the classroom, drawing out each footstep. He waited. Four seconds later, there was a quiet thump as Sasuke hit his head on the desk. "Dumbass is gonna kill himself," he heard the boy mutter, and suddenly he was right behind him. "Let's go, Naruto," he monotoned.

Naruto tried not to cackle victoriously.

A minute and a half later, the two were crouched in the room next to the suite where the three siblings were being held. They heard the low murmur of nurses and officers through the wall, but couldn't make anything out. Naruto straightened just enough to peek over the bottom of one of the low windows into the room, crouching again after a moment.

"There are too many people in the room to sneak in by the connecting door without being seen," he murmured. "From here I can't see the kids' faces, or hear anything the adults are saying."

"Not even with your senses?"

Naruto pressed his ear against the wall and motioned for silence. A look of intense concentration passed over his face. "I… vaguely…." Finally, he pulled away with a sigh. "I can only hear some of the words. I'm pretty sure the walls are designed to prevent eavesdropping. Ideas, smart guy?"

Sasuke smoothed his sweatshirt absently, an obsessive motion his hands couldn't resist when he started thinking. A minute ticked by. Naruto tapped his foot against the floor, growing impatient. "Seven minutes, teme," he hummed.

"I know!" he hissed under his breath. "If only Shino was here," he added as an afterthought.

"Or me!"

Both boys whirled at the sound of a familiar voice. "What the fuck are you doing here, Kiba?" Naruto growled. "And pipe down, we're not supposed to be here."

"Think I don't know that?" The boisterous boy shuffled over to them, keeping out of view from the window. A small dog trotted past him and straight to Naruto, jumping on his bent knees and licking his face with his fluffy tail whirling. Kiba grinned at the scene. "I saw you two slip out a while back, and I knew where you were going. Figured you'd need a stealth specialist on your side."

"Don't know many stealth specialists you can smell before you can see," Sasuke muttered.

Kiba's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What was that, Uchiha?"

"Nothing, mutt."

"You think you tough just 'cause you got money and family name, pretty boy?"

"You think you are just because you've been in the locker?" Sasuke sneered. "Try me."

Kiba reached into the pocket of his worn beige cargo pants, pulling out brass knuckles and slipping them on with deliberate slowness. "You wanna go toe to toe?" he snarled.

Naruto slipped between them. "Okay, stop it you two. You're gonna blow our position." He glanced at his watch. "Six minutes to be back in the classroom. If you're gonna do something, Kiba, better get to it."

The delinquent kid smiled. "I'm gonna need a distraction. Care to do the honors, Naruto?"

The blonde returned his expression. "It would be my pleasure."

"Hate to break up the formalities," Sasuke drawled, "but am I supposed to just sit here?"

"You could go back to the classroom and let yourself be fawned over. I hear you're good at that."

" _Or_ you could handle the distraction, and I'll cover for us back in the room, in case you two don't get back in time." Naruto glared at Kiba. Sasuke just snorted.

"You're better at the flashy, dobe. Give these idiots something to look at. Just don't show yourself – they probably meant their threat of punishment." Naruto's eyes grew shadowed, and Sasuke could all but read the 'especially for  _me'_ on his face. He gave the blonde a tentative smile. "They won't know what hit them," he assured him. "Just do what you do best, and I'll go wrangle the others." The Uchiha caught Kiba's surprised look and recovered himself enough to leer rudely. "And don't think I'll cover for your lame asses, because I won't. You have five minutes." He crawled towards the door, turning just in time to sneer, "Naruto, don't let Inuzuka's mangy mutt touch anybody. I don't want my commanding officers to have fleas distract them when they're proctoring my final."

He slipped away before he could see Kiba's mutinous look. "I'm gonna kill-"

"Sasuke's always like that, K-dog. Let it go." Naruto patted his friend's shoulder sympathetically. "How much time you need?"

"As much as you can get me."

"Four minutes, then. That gives us one to get back."

Kiba nodded and shifted closer to the adjoining door, one hand on Akamaru's head as the puppy sat obediently and stared up at him adoringly. "Think he really won't cover for us?"

Naruto shook his head with a laugh. "Hard to tell, honestly," he said quietly. Then suddenly, he was gone.

-.- -.- -.- -.- -.-

Sasuke leaned against his desk with a heavy-set scowl, an expression which seemed to allow his ears to filter out all high-pitched sounds. He did his best to ignore the swarm of girls around him and allow his thoughts to drift, but between their incessant talking and annoying tendency of touching him whenever he lost focus, he wasn't getting very far. Not to mention his eyes always slipped back to the clock at the front of the room.

Those two idiots were running out of time. Sasuke didn't care if they got caught, he just didn't want them to get punished and ruin his own chances in the final exam. They were tested on teamwork, and like it or not they would need everyone to pull their own weight.

Sasuke told himself this as his stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of what the officers would do to Naruto if they had promised others painful punishment. He straightened the pencil on his desk obsessively.

"You seem distracted, Sasuke." A female voice startled him out of his thoughts, because for once it wasn't screeching in the upper register at the volume of a banshee. Hyuuga Hinata had somehow worked her way through the crowd to stand behind him, pale eyes averted shyly. Sasuke felt himself relax slightly.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he replied, turning to face her. As always, Neji was at her side, but for once he was standing a little ways off instead of protectively in front of her. The aloof boy stared at Sasuke indifferently, but made no move to step into the conversation between him and his twin. The Uchiha nodded to him with something like gratitude.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked softly, a small smile on her pale lips. The Uchiha shook his head at her uncanny ability to read his thoughts like an open book.

"As always," he sighed. "He's such a dumbass."

"I think he tries to be," the girl replied off-handedly. "I don't suppose he'd miss today, of all days."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Sasuke growled.

Hinata tilted her head cheerfully. "When you say it like that, it's almost like you lack faith in him. If he wants to be here, he will be."

Sasuke chuckled, realizing for the first time that the gaggle of girls had retreated several feet and were silent, albeit glaring daggers at the strange duo. Not for the first time, he was thankful for his cousin's presence. "I don't get it, Hinata," he said. "You know the exact words to say to me, but you're a stuttering mess around Naruto. I think he'd like this side of you."

Hinata had the decency to blush and smile sheepishly, though it didn't quite reach her perturbing lavender eyes. "And you are always so kind to me, yet so cold to everyone else. I think the world would enjoy this side of you," she returned quietly. Neji's quiet snort behind could almost be ignored.

Sasuke stared at her, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to retort when something large and heavy barreled into him, unbalancing his precarious position and sending him tumbling to the floor.

"What the  _fu-_ Naruto!"

Blue eyes twinkled. "Miss me, sweetheart?"

Sasuke shoved him roughly and jumped to his feet, brushing off his sweatshirt frantically and feeling a slight crinkle under his hand. "You idiot! What was that for?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I get you dirty?" Naruto hopped up with a smirk. Noticing Hinata, his smile grew wider. "Hey there Hina-chan. Been keeping Sasuke company?"

Hinata turned a bright red, but managed to smile and murmur, "Yes, Naruto-kun. Though I think we're b-both glad that you're here now."

Sasuke spared a moment to give Hinata a small smile, then turned to Naruto. "Find anything?"

Naruto nodded. "Later."

"Where's the mutt?"

" _Kiba,"_  Naruto glared for emphasis, "is back in his seat. Where we should be." He raised a hand to the Hyuuga. "We'll see you in a minute, Hinata." Noticing Neji, he offered a wan smile, which was unreturned.

The two boys slipped back into their chairs, and Sasuke pulled out the piece of paper Naruto had stuffed in his sweatshirt pocket when he tackled him. The dobe had probably written it on the way back from the hospital wing, or hurriedly put the notes on paper before leaving. Holding it under his desk and checking around him for spying eyes, he turned to Naruto's quick-hand scrawl.

_Three siblings, our age. All very pale, bad sunburns. The girl is blonde, medium-build. The bigger guy has dark hair and what looked like face-paint, stockier. Smallest guy was awake, red hair, green eyes. Looked strong despite small build. Smelled funny. Seemed to have fragged memories. Hand was shaking, very twitchy._

_The Captain was talking to Shizune. Expected them to wake by tomorrow afternoon. Condition like Ino said. They plan to put them through the exam in a few days for formalities. Silver-haired guy was there too. Talked to smallest guy, agreed to test him._

Sasuke lifted his eyes. 'Silver-haired guy was there?' he mouthed to Naruto. The blonde nodded. Straightening his sweatshirt and brushing off bits of dust, Sasuke folded the note again and slipped it away. 'Who?' he lip-signed.

Naruto just shrugged. His eyes darted to the clock, which shifted to 7:10 with a near-silent click. The door opened and Iruka stalked in, considerably more reserved than earlier. "Everyone, single-file line, follow me."

"Now to wait out the rest of the spars," Naruto groaned, standing with the rest of the students and hanging back, waiting for the line to form. "Joy oh joy."

"Suck it up," Sasuke hissed. "We just have to get through today."

"Actually, Sasuke…" From the way Naruto rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin and let Sasuke step in front of him in line, cheeks turning pink and his other hand twitching by his pocket like it half-expected a fight, Sasuke could tell he wouldn't like what followed those two words. His eyes narrowed.

"Dobe…" he warned.  _If you say it, I will punch you in the face,_ he thought, trying to project it mentally into Naruto's head. After all these months, all this work, all the planning–

"We're going to need to call off the plan."

Apparently Sasuke needed to work on telepathy – the idiot just didn't get it. The sound of a fist crunching bone followed.


	5. Mushroom Hunting

**Disclaimer:**  I own no characters and make no money off of this story; all the ridiculous amounts of income for the Naruto Franchise go to Kishimoto. I do however own this plot, and the inventions that I create for this story.

Warnings: Language, Kakashi's book

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other from opposing sides of the room, empty save the two currently-occupied chairs.

"It's the only logical choice," Naruto finally said, shattering the heavy silence between them.

"Don't, dobe," Sasuke growled, eyes narrowing. "Don't even say another word, or I  _will_  punch you again."

Naruto just leaned forward. "Sasuke," he said, unusually severe. "Think for just a moment. We need intel on these new guys. I  _really_  didn't like the little one – his scent, his twitchiness, his eyes… everything about him just screamed that something was off. I know you hate it when I say this, but my gut is telling me that he's up to something bad, and I need to know what. Don't pull that face, Sasuke, my gut has gotten us out of more jams than I can count."

Sasuke's scowl only became more pronounced. "Yeah, and nearly emptied my bank account," he muttered under his breath. His fist tightened, but he said nothing else, and Naruto took the blatant lie (one does not  _empty_ an Uchiha's bank account) as an offer to explain further.

Naruto leaned back again, trying not to smirk, and rubbed his left eye.  _Cameras and microphones._

Sasuke very pointedly yawned.  _Don't say anything._

Minutes of silence later, the door to the room opened inward, and a grizzly looking Private stared them down. After a long-suffering groan, he informed them, "The Captain says she has no time to deal with misfits like you today. Get your lucky asses back to the exams, and don't whine if you're late and automatically fail."

Sasuke and Naruto were out of the door before he finished talking, Naruto turning around to give the man a cheery wave as they jogged down the hall. When he skipped to face forwards again, his gaze slid over to Sasuke.

"Have they ever let down on a promise to punish me?" he asked. Sasuke just shook his head and kept his eyes fixed forward, though they churned with thoughts he left unvoiced. Finally, they rounded a corner and skidded into the courtyard where the exams were being continued, slowing to avoid the other students.

"Those three siblings…" Sasuke eventually murmured, moving with Naruto to the far corner for privacy's sake. "They must really mean something big, if they got  _you_ out of trouble."

Naruto nodded a little too eagerly. "Exactly. You see why I have to stay now."

"Naruto." Sasuke picked dirt off his sleeve deliberately, cleaning as he always did when he struggled with what to say. "The plan has always been to leave the Police Force after graduation. We needed to show them that we were a force to be reckoned with outside of their control. We needed to prove that they weren't worth standing beside anymore. We needed to make a point, Naruto, that the city needs some  _real_  enforcers, and it sure as hell wasn't them." He turned to the blond, pale face unreadable. "Why? Why is it that now, after  _everything,_  you are willing to throw all that away?"

Naruto flushed, temper flaring. "I'm not throwing it away, Sasuke. I'm just… delaying it." He looked away from the piercing gaze, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Because-!" Naruto whirled to face his friend, moments from screaming, but caught himself. He breathed out very slowly, hanging his head. "Because," he repeated, calmer, "I still want nothing more than to protect the city, and everyone in it that I love. And I just get the feeling that these guys are up to no good. We need to be inside the Force to keep an eye on them. I can't leave in good conscience, knowing that they are being given weapons… and the means to use them on innocents."

Sasuke examined Naruto's face for several seconds, searching for any lie in the words. At last, he just looked to his boots, sighing heavily. "You forget that I have my own reasons for going along with you in the first place," he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"I don't forget," Naruto said earnestly, almost reaching out to touch his shoulder before he remembered their public code of conduct. "That's why… Sasuke, tell me what you think of this idea."

"Hn."

"You leave, just as planned. You take half the gang – select people with a nice distribution of skills. You start our work early. I keep half here in the Force with me, we do some digging, we do whatever necessary to keep those siblings in line, and when we're done, we throw down our resignation forms and join you."

"And what if they really are 'blank slates'? What if there's nothing to be found?"

"We leave as soon as we're sure of that."

Sasuke sniffed and brushed dust off his shoulder. "And what would I be doing, out there in the city? I can't move against the Force if you and the others are still in it." His voice was light, as though the words weren't meant to make Naruto's heart swell like it did.

"You start Operation Sweep without me," he answered, trying to hide his grin.  _Sasuke just might go along with this._ "In fact, the early stages may work better if you have some solid eyes and ears among the Police."

Sasuke stood perfectly still, the seconds dragging on without a reply. Naruto shifted on his feet, heart thrumming in his chest. He knew by now to trust his instincts, and his instincts were screaming that he couldn't quit just yet. His mind drifted back to the redhead – the faintest sickly-sweet smell that drifted off him, the slimmest red rim around his eyes. He shuddered, eyes narrowing at the thought.

Of course, his instincts were also telling him that separating from Sasuke was a Terrible Idea, but Naruto knew better than to ask Sasuke to stay with him. The Uchiha had resolved to leave long ago for his own purposes, and Naruto wasn't about to stop him. Besides, it really was true – having someone to spy for Sasuke and cover up his tracks may be for the best, at least for a little while.

"Alright, dobe," Sasuke finally said, his voice perfectly flat and his face expressionless. "I'll go along with this. I have two conditions."

Naruto smothered his inner child, which was currently jumping up and down and screaming with triumph. "And those are?"

"One, you stay out of the mansion unless I'm there and Itachi isn't."

Naruto stilled, his joy somewhat dissipating. The request didn't make much sense; he had always been welcome in the mansion, whether the brothers were home or not, and he loved Itachi like a brother. Why would spying on the Police change that? Though… "Alright," Naruto said, slowly. "Will you tell me why?"

"Two," Sasuke continued, not looking at him, "you don't tell the others until after. I don't want our final exam to be thrown off because of this."

 _Right… the test is centered around teamwork…_  "Sounds good to me." He smiled hesitantly, small enough that anyone observing wouldn't catch it. "Hey. We're cool, right?"

"Don't be an idiot, dobe," Sasuke scoffed, but it was just barely softened by an affectionate tone. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a good-natured flick on the nose.

Sasuke, glowering over the rim of his glasses, choked on his stifled laugh.

* * *

They sat in the large arena, eerily quiet. Naruto sat between Shikamaru and Sasuke, trying not to twiddle his thumbs nervously as they waited. Nobody dared speak, so besides the rustling of cloth as people fidgeted, the room was silent. After an hour of waiting, someone broke down into quiet sobs. Whoever it was, they were soon joined by others. Naruto closed his eyes, ignoring the sweat beading on his brow.

 _This is ridiculous,_  he thought.  _Purposefully making us wait for the final exam this long. What are they hoping to gain? Think someone's going to crack under the pressure so much that they run?_

As if on cue, a girl with bright blue hair stood up and sprinted out of the room, her head in her hands. Her chair clattered to the floor and the door banged shut after her.

Everyone was still for a long second, looking at each other.

Then, in a rush of motion, several others bolted. After a minute, a few more clambered to their feet and quietly walked out.

Pale, Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. Sasuke stared back, offering Naruto a bland smirk which, for whatever reason, was comforting. Nodding to himself, the blond closed his eyes and focused on the faintest sound of a ticking clock two rooms over. At least these walls weren't completely soundproof, as they were in the hospital wing. He tapped his foot in time with the second hand.

After what seemed like an eternity, in which Shikamaru yawned more times than he could count and fell asleep on Naruto's shoulder, the clock chimed two hours after the scheduled start of their exam.

_Fuck this shit._

"Is anyone fucking there anymore?" Naruto yelled. He set his blue gaze on a camera in the corner, standing up angrily. Everyone in the room stared.

"Naruto!" Sasuke hissed. Shikamaru made a vaguely offended noise as he hit Naruto's chair, rubbing his bruised head. Hinata's eyes practically bugged out of her head, and she gripped Neji's hand with such force it was turning blue. Neji, in turn, glared. The blond ignored them, striding purposefully to the corner where the mechanical eye sat observing them all.

"Hello?" He waved, and pantomimed knocking. "We're here to be tested? You know, your 'valuable assets' that, for the past 17 fucking years, you've trained to be punctual?"

" _It seems we should have trained you to have better manners_ ," a mechanical voice retorted over the intercom. It waited several seconds before adding briskly, " _Break into two groups. There must be a Squad leader for each. When you have finished, Loudmouth here can alert me_." It clicked off, managing to sound dry and totally unamused.

Naruto turned around with a grin. "Right, kiddies. Sasuke and I will be your Captains today."

Neji stood up, scowling down at the shorter boy from across the arena. "Don't be so foolishly arrogant, filthy streetrat. It is logical that Sasuke and I, being of the two highest ranking families, should lead the squadrons."

"God-fucking-damn!" Kiba snarled, jumping to his feet. "I didn't know there was room in here for an ego as large as yours! Why don't you go find a mirror and fuck that, instead of torturing all of us with your fricking medieval presence! Does your family speak exclusively in Middle English?"

"Don't you dare talk to him that way," Hinata said, soft but firm. She didn't rise to her feet, instead fixing her perturbing lavender gaze on the boy until he flinched and looked away. "And Neji, Sasuke and Naruto are the highest ranking trainees of their year." She pulled her hand out of his and frowned up at him.

"Well, I am the highest of mine," Neji replied, adjusting the thin glasses on the bridge of his nose. Though it was as arrogant as ever, he pointedly erased the sneer for his twin.

"And there are how many of you left?" Ino quipped. She examined her nails. "Three? I bet a bunch of you cowards turned tail and ran about twenty minutes ago." Her voice dripped sugar.

"Forty-three percent were eliminated in the first round, sixty-one of the remaining eliminated in the second round, and about half left just now… though that was only three, you see, so be kind to each other." Shikamaru yawned and closed his eyes again, cushioning his head in his arms.

"This is ridiculous." Sakura stood, brushing her uniform with business-like purpose. "There is no dispute that Sasuke will be one team leader. Everyone who wants to be on his squad, go over to him. If you want to be with Naruto or Neji, join them." She flounced over to Sasuke's side with a pasty grin.

Naruto snorted. "That plan is what's ridiculous," he muttered, but didn't protest. In a few seconds, Naruto was surrounded by Kiba, Shikamaru, and one of Neji's teammates, a boy wearing green spandex and sporting a bowl cut. He grinned when Naruto looked at him, teeth glittering, and Naruto had smiled back and avoided eye contact since. Sasuke had Sakura, Ino, and a quiet boy Naruto thought was named Shino.

Neji had stayed where he was, with his female teammate and Hinata at his side.

"Well," Sakura said cheerfully, clapping her hands together almost mockingly, "looks like Naruto wins. Neji, he's your squad leader."

"I will  _not_  be on the same team as a useless fighter, a criminal, a lazy ass, and a disrespectful orphan!" Neji snarled.

Sakura cocked a pink eyebrow. "Really? Fine then. You join Sasuke, and the other two go with Naruto."

"I won't be separated from Hinata," Neji said, very quietly. Naruto had to stop his jaw from dropping at the unheard-of tone.

"It's alright, Neji," Hinata spoke up, a fiery blush on her cheeks. "I w-w-want to b-be on Naruto's t-t-team."

Neji stared at her, his expression so shocked and confused that it almost covered the disgust. "… _why?_ "

Naruto just watched, almost agreeing with the sentiment. (But, as it was Neji, he was against the principle.)

"Let her be," Sasuke spoke up. He crossed his arms and stared levelly at the taller boy. "She doesn't need you to protect her right now. We're not going to hurt each other."

With a sniff of contempt and a downright betrayed look at his twin, Neji stalked across the room and stood stiffly, his back to Sasuke's. The two girls that had supported him shared a long look before slowly moving to Naruto's side.

Naruto valiantly fought the urge to stick his tongue out at Neji mockingly. Instead, he whirled on the camera and gave a dramatic bow. "Oh Great Voice of Power, we await our trials with bated breath."

" _Good. Listen up, brats – you're only debriefed on your missions once, and this is no different."_  The room stilled instantly in obedience, even Neji turning to watch the camera carefully. " _You have each be given the name of another Trainee and sent out into the city. A two mile radius has been set up around the station, and you're not to leave it. You are to scatter and hide. The object of this pretty little game is to find the location of your target and report it back to your Captain. They will follow your lead and detain your target – if you were right, that is. Whoever is caught, fails. Whoever catches them, passes. Any questions?"_

The mic clicked off, and the sudden silence echoed around the arena. Naruto turned to Sasuke, brows drawn together, to see the Uchiha cocking an eyebrow at him inquisitively.

"Well," Shikamaru huffed quietly, "I guess that explains the 'lower than 50% passing rate.'"

Sasuke 'hn'ed in agreement. "What about the Captains?" he asked aloud, firm voice carrying to the camera easily.

" _Ah… yes. You and Loudmouth here will be sent after each other last."_ The mechanical voice was practically sneering.

Naruto felt his heart skip a little beat.  _You mean… only one of us will get to pass?_ He licked his lips nervously and sent his best friend another worried glance.

Sasuke just stared at him levelly. He coughed once, quietly.  _We'll talk later._

Naruto gave a slight nod. "K guys. Huddle up." He opened his arms with a wide beam that hid his trepidation. Obligingly, his teammates linked their arms around each other's shoulders. Kiba was grinning ferally, Shikamaru yawned through half-lidded eyes, Neji's teammate – Bee? Dee? – was bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, Hinata was looking down and biting her lip, and the girl with two high buns watching Naruto evenly, waiting for orders. Naruto inspected each in a quick survey, and resisted nodding to himself.

"First order of business: we need a method for you to contact me."

"There are walkie talkies over there," Bun-girl said in a lilting accent, gesturing with her chin to a corner of the arena. Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw the basket, turning back immediately. He shook his head.

"Too loud," he said.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice broke into the brainstorming, and Naruto leaned back, meeting eyes with the raven-haired teen. His face was closed, black eyes guarded. "We're heading out."

Naruto just nodded, but he read the message.  _We're giving you privacy to plan. Don't make us wait._ Sasuke turned heel and strode out of the room, the rest of his team quietly trailing after him. Naruto watched his retreating form for a long second, heart twisting, before turning back to his squad.

"Other ideas? I'm almost sure they'll send someone to track me, so they can warn their teammates when I'm on their trail. Which," he paused, considering, "is definitely something we should do."

"Well, I'm the tracking and stealth specialist, right?" Kiba asked, practically vibrating with energy. "I can keep on Sasuke's tail."

"Sounds good, K-dog. Akamaru feeling good tonight?" A hearty bark from Kiba's leather jacket was all the response he needed.

"Shino is a tech specialist," Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "He'll have earpieces on his person. We wouldn't be able to pick up on what they were saying anyway."

Kiba deflated, growling and pulling out of the circle to cross his arms.

Shikamaru turned his gaze to Bun-girl, whirring gears of his mind practically visible in his eyes. "Ten Ten, right?" She nodded mutely. "Weapons specialist?" Another nod. "Have you got anything that can carry notes, or messages?"

The brunette considered, then nodded slowly. "I have a dart gun," she said ponderously, as if choosing her words carefully. "I could wrap paper around the dart, if it was short enough."

Naruto listened to her speak, her strange accent light but very audible. He filed the information away for further investigation, tilting his head at Shikamaru. "What's the plan?"

Shikamaru leaned out of the circle, taking down his arms and pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. He slipped it into his mouth without lighting it, chewing on the end thoughtfully. "They're going to be listening in on Naruto, not Ten Ten. If we radio in our targets' positions to Ten Ten, she can write them down and send them over to Naruto. That way, they won't be able to hear where we're zeroing in on, and send warning."

"They'll pick up on that quickly, and start looking for Ten Ten," Hinata said, frowning.

"I can move each time," Ten Ten replied calmly. "They'll have trouble finding me, unless I want them to."

"What about when Ten Ten needs to go after her target?" Naruto asked.

"She finds them, then heads back to you and sends you the message." Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "She can go last, I suppose."

"Alright, so we know how we catch them." Kiba had sat down, one ankle hooked over the other knee, and was holding Akamaru on his lap. "How we gonna avoid being caught?"

"I dunno. Hide?" Shikamaru shrugged apathetically.

"There's nothing else we can really do," Hinata added.

Naruto bit his lip thoughtfully, then turned around, breaking away from the huddle. The others followed his move. "Hey, Proctor, you still there?"

" _Unfortunately."_ The voice was void of all sarcasm. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"What are the rules of combat? If you're found by the other Captain, can you engage them? Can you run?"

" _You can engage them. But I suppose that's why they're the Captains, eh? You're not supposed to be able to win... but you can always run."_

"What, nothing else? No 'don't kill each other, kiddies'? No 'play nice'?"

" _You're about to become Police officers. You're going out into the streets of Konoha in the middle of the night and tracking others who have been trained just as well as you. What warning could I say that you would heed, anyway?"_

Naruto found himself liking this mysterious SID Captain even more. "So, basically no rules?"

" _I've told you everything. Though, I think that Uchiha kid is gonna be getting pretty snappy if you don't hurry up. You might want to act soon."_ With that, the voice clicked out.

Naruto paused, confused. "Where do we pick up our names?" he called, but received no answer from the mic. Instead, Hinata coughed to get his attention.

"They're on the pistols they gave us last round," she said quietly, her head bowed and eyes averted, but the words coming without at stutter.

Naruto smiled at her and closed his hand around the gun, feeling the adrenaline start trickling into his blood. He turned back to the team, forcefully lifting his hand off the weapon and rubbing his hands together deviously. "Okay, guys. I'm gonna hole up in my apartment for now. Ten Ten, I'll leave some windows open so you can shoot in. Try not to put too many holes in my walls." He winked charily, but the girl didn't so much as blush. "As for the rest of you, hide out for an hour or two before looking. Sasuke's team will go on the offensive first. Let them where themselves out for a bit. Try to pick locations that you have no personal ties to, and where they wouldn't guess to look for you. It doesn't matter for me until the very end, so I'm gonna drink some coffee to calm my nerves. Do you have a place in mind?"

He looked around his team, pleased when they all nodded, except for Ten Ten. "I'll follow you," she said smoothly. "I'll choose my place when I get there."

"Sure, just make sure whoever is following me doesn't see you."

"Of course."

Naruto hummed, letting his thumb drift over the chain in his pocket absently. "We go down different hallways, and leave out of as many different doors – hell, windows if you want – as we can. Clear?"

More nods. Naruto grinned. "Alright, team. Move out."

* * *

"Hey Naruto." Sasuke plopped down in the old leather recliner, throwing his legs over one arm of the chair in a rather undignified position. He straightened his clothes obsessively as he tried not to laugh at his friend, who was currently lying face down on the futon. At his name, Naruto grumbled incoherently and sat up, hand immediately searching for the mug of coffee steaming on the low table. He took a long swig before setting it back down, and then raked his fingers through his rumpled hair.

"S'ke? What're you doin' here?"

Sasuke shook his head, caught between being amused and annoyed. "I came here to talk to you, like we promised. You probably shouldn't be sleeping during our final exam."

"Wasn't sleeping," Naruto said, words slurred drowsily. "I was thinking."

"Oh really," Sasuke drawled.

"Mm-hmm." He took another sip of coffee, rolling it in his mouth before swallowing. "About what we're going to do."

"Well, I thought it was pretty obvious," Sasuke said, shifting so he was facing forwards and crossing his hands in his lap. "We just tell everyone the plan. Whoever you want on the Force with you, we let pass. Whoever is coming with me, we fail."

Naruto made a face. "That… makes sense, I guess. But I don't like it. Everyone should have the right to pass."

"Well, it's not like that's possible in this scenario in the first place."

Naruto didn't answer. He spun his coffee mug back and forth in his hands, then downed the rest in one go, grimacing as it burned his throat. "I can't ask that of them."

"You're still going to ask half of them to stay with you, when they've had their minds set on leaving for years." Sasuke leaned forward and took the empty mug out of Naruto's hand, walking it over to the sink in the tiny kitchen. He flipped on the kitchen light, the blue glow spilling into the living room and onto Naruto's face. The other boy moaned and flopped back over. "Not to mention," Sasuke continued, forcing down a snigger at Naruto's antics, "you're asking the other half to walk out with me, stay on the streets, and work against the city's domestic soldiers without  _you_  there to lead them."

Sasuke tried not to be hurt that most of their class would loathe that idea, ignoring whatever the blond was babbling about his team already working. There was something about Naruto, something warm and open, that Sasuke would never have.

Sasuke shook himself quickly, snapping out of the self-pitying reverie. It's not like they had seen Naruto's darker side anyway. They didn't know half of the blonde. Speaking of…

Sasuke slipped over to the fridge and opened the cabinet above it, peeking inside to find the innocuous pill bottle in the far corner. He almost laughed at the mental image of Naruto, having to stand on tip-toe to push it back so far, but couldn't bring himself to in the current situation. He shook out one tiny rectangle into his hand and screwed the lid back on, but placed the bottle on the counter as a reminder. He rinsed out dregs out of the mug and let it fill with water before returning to his friend.

"Here. Bottoms up."

He held out the water in one hand and the pill in the other, trying not to notice how still Naruto had gotten, his face buried in a worn pillow in the other end of the couch. His chest rose and fell with a quiet sigh, and he sat up slowly, holding out one hand without a word. Sasuke let the pill fall into the outstretched palm, watched Naruto flip in back, and handed over the water.

"There," he said, as Naruto chased it down with half the mug. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Shut the fuck up," Naruto spat. "I only swallow because I owe you big for this, and if I'm going to be on the Force I'll need to keep my emotions about me." He refused to meet Sasuke's eyes. "Tell me the plan and I'll go along with it. But if you make my friends hate me, I'll never forgive you."

Sasuke snorted.  _We're back to this attitude, are we?_ "Your friends could never hate you, Naruto. Just look at me. I've had to deal with your emotional hell for years and I can still stand you. It will take more than one failed test – which they were only passing for a final 'fuck you' anyway – for them to hate you."

Naruto just breathed out carefully. "If you say so." A second ticked by. "So? What are we gonna do, Captain?"

Sasuke shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pocket and smothered his twitching smirk.  _He may be smarter than anyone gives him credit for… but playing him is just too easy._  "Who do you want on your team?"

"Shikamaru," Naruto said automatically. "And Kiba, if I can help it. Hinata. I don't know about the other two on my squad… but the girl seemed like she could be useful. A weapons specialist might come in handy."

Sasuke nodded briskly. "So, basically, your team right now."

Naruto pursed his lips and tilted his head, an expression of, 'yeah, I guess'.

Sasuke reached up and pinched his mic. "It's okay, guys. Come on in." He let his hand fall back, loving every second of the blonde's confused expression. "And Naruto, do tell the girl she can take the scope off my forehead now."

* * *

"So what?" Neji growled, leaning against the wall as far as he could get from Naruto. "We're just going to turn ourselves in?"

"I like it!" Ino squealed from the kitchen counter, flipping her ponytail cheerfully and catching it in her other hand, back and forth. "I mean, if we casually walk in behind Naruto, obviously not hurt or struggling at all, the whole team at once - it's almost as big a middle finger as we had planned to give them in the first place."

"It does have a certain dramatic flair," Sakura agreed, perched on the arm of the couch opposite Naruto. Her green eyes were calm, hands crossed imperiously on one knee. "I agree with it entirely."

Naruto felt his mouth hanging slightly open, clinging to the second cup of coffee Sasuke had sympathetically made for him like his last lifeline. "Uh…huh…" He drained some more. "You're really all just going to go along with this?"

"Well, yeah," Ino said, as if speaking to an idiot. "For one, Sasuke asked us to. Two, it's about as close to the real plan as we can get under the circumstances. Three, I want to know more about those war babies, and I sure as hell don't want anything more to do with the Force after tonight." She pet her hair absently, not flipping it back in the other direction and letting a frown play across her pretty features. "I told you. I get trained up, I get a gun, I leave. Just enough to kill my bastard father, nothing more. I don't care about this city's so-called 'justice.'" A second later, and she returned to tossing her hair with a placid smile.

"It's not so different from what we agreed to originally," Sakura added with a shrug. "You're just coming a bit later, that's all."

Naruto shook his head, trying to wake himself from this demented dream. "Shino?"

"I have no issues starting work early," the boy said simply, sitting cross-legged in a corner.

Naruto pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes and rubbed until he saw stars. This was all just too surreal. The universe was actually working with him, actually giving him an easy way out of things? At least one person had to still be willing to be an ass to him. "Neji? I'm guessing you're not just going to come along for the ride."

Neji opened his mouth, looking like he had a hundred biting retorts on the tip of his tongue, but hesitated. He drummed his fingers on his arm, then tilted his head, looking away. The light glinted off his glasses. The sound of quiet breaths and Ino's silky hair swaying was all that could be heard. Finally, he looked up, eyes narrow and mouth pinched. "What does my sister say? I take it she knows about this fool's plan of yours?"

Naruto's brow drew together. "She never discussed it with you?" The idea of quiet, stuttering Hinata keeping a secret from her inseparable twin was inconceivable.

Neji glowered. "No," he said stiffly. "She did not."

Naruto swallowed, feeling Sasuke's heavy stare on him and knowing enough to choose his words carefully. "Hinata agrees with the idea. She was going to leave with the rest of us, though I suppose she'll be staying with my team on the Force now."

Neji clenched his jaw, a muscle in his cheek twitching. "Interesting," he said, drawing the word out. "She never mentioned it."

Everyone watched him, hardly daring to breathe. Eventually, he just kicked off the wall and pushed his glasses up with one thin middle finger. "Very well. I'll follow you idiots' bastard of a plan, but I  _will_  be staying with Hinata. If they attempt to fail me, my father will have harsh words with the Captain."

Sasuke stood and flexed his fingers, the popping hiding Naruto's sigh of relief. "It's getting late," he said commandingly. "I think the others will be getting tired of hiding out without word by now. Let's head in." He nodded to Ten Ten, who was crouching in the open windowsill. "Will you radio in to your team, and ask them to meet us here?"

"Lee won't know the way," she said smoothly.

"Just tell them to go line up outside the Station," Naruto cut in, standing abruptly. His face was closed. He stretched his arms over his head and rolled his neck, twitching when it cracked loudly. "If this is how it's going to be," he said, "then it might as well be as obnoxious as possible."

Ten Ten nodded and lifted the radio from her belt, speaking softly as Ino hopped down from the counter and the others stood. Silently, they filed out the front door one by one, following Naruto's chin-high, stiff-backed lead.

* * *

Sasuke walked in with the others, navy blue hood pulled up over his unruly black hair and boots in step with Naruto's. Naruto, in contrast, strode down the hallway with his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his sweatpants, black trench coat billowing around him and the embroidered flames on the hem dancing as though real. His orange bandana kept his newly clean, bright yellow spikes in check, and his blue eyes glittered with a dangerous light.

Sasuke hung his head a little more and smirked. Naruto always did enjoy the style points. Not that Sasuke could claim any different, though he did believe himself a little more subtle.

Of course, this play was far from anything remotely akin to subtle. Every officer on duty was watching them, looking torn between stepping in and clapping. Naruto beamed insincerely at all of them, warding off thoughts of opposition. He finally reached the arena they had been held in and burst in, making the heavy door slam into the opposite wall.

"Hello, dear Mechanical Voice. I have brought your prisoners back for you."

"No need to address me so formally, Naruto," a cool voice said, from within the room. Naruto and Sasuke, side by side, froze immediately, and had to force themselves to turn and face it.

Sasuke immediately recognized the man that had pulled them over the night before, lounging on three of the chairs in the large arena. His long legs sprawled over two of them and his arms were hooked lackadaisically over the back of the third. The same black mask was pulled up to his eyes, the silver hair splayed up in the same gravity-defying display.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in on the thin, black-framed glasses in his jacket pocket.  _How did you get those,_  he wanted to scream. Wanted to run over there and hoist him up by his neck and hold a fist in front of his face until he answered.

Not that it would do anything. Not that Sasuke could feasibly threaten the Special Investigations Division Captain.

Naruto actually gave a little bow. "Sir." Sasuke swallowed his surprise and saluted, trying to make as devoid of sarcasm and killing intent as possible.

The man's grey eyes scraped over their little entourage, looking faintly amused. "Captured those all on your own, did you, Loudmouth?"

Naruto raised his head a fraction of an inch. "Yes sir."

"All at once?"

"Yes sir."

"Without a scratch on you? Without so much as a streak of dirt?" He was on his feet in one graceful motion and halfway to Naruto's side in the blink of an eye. "Do you think to play me for a fool, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed even further. He swore Hatake's voice shook when he said that name.

Naruto didn't so much as twitch with the man less than a foot from him, head tilted back to look him in the eye defiantly. "Yes, sir," he replied, voice steady.

Hatake stood stock still for several seconds, before his shoulders shook once, a flat chuckle escaping his lips. Another followed, and another. Soon, he was flat-out laughing. Sasuke looked over his shoulder, confused, and raised an eyebrow at Neji. The taller teen shook his head, looking as lost as he was.

"I still hate you," Hatake said levelly, when his hysteria had subsided. "Tell me, where is the rest of your team?"

"Outside, awaiting orders."

Hatake looked over them again, eyes locking on Sakura's thin frame. Sasuke watched him carefully, noting something like disgust flash in his expression. "Brat. Go tell them to come inside."

She straightened, expression tightening with fury, but said nothing. She turned on heel and all but ran back out, hands fisted at her side. The man watched her go, eyes tight, and then gestured broadly.

"Sit down if you want."

No one moved, except for him, who returned to his previous position. He whipped out a little orange book and buried his nose in it, absorbed.

Ino coughed in a vain attempt to get his attention. "Excuse me, sir," she purred demurely. "Are you reading porn in the presence of a lady?"

The men in the room stiffened, save Hatake, who didn't so much as look up. "If you recognize it by the cover, I doubt you're a lady, my dear."

 _Interesting,_ Sasuke thought, pointedly ignoring the content of the conversation and focusing on its method.  _So he doesn't hate all girls… just Sakura?_ He felt anger light up in him at the thought, a slow-burning emotion deep in his chest. And wasn't that just… odd.

A few minutes ticked by, in which Hatake read his po… book, and the others watched blandly, before the others arrived. They followed the pretty pinkette into the room, showing assorted levels of excitement and fear. Akamaru's skittering paws could be heard on the hard floor, along with heavy breaths from what a glance confirmed to be Lee. Hatake looked up at their entrance, then said over the cover of his book, "Newcomers, congratulations. You all pass with flying colors. You can collect your gear in the morning. Dismissed."

"Is it really that easy?" Shikamaru asked, breaking the momentary stunned silence that had followed.

And here Sasuke had thought he was done being surprised for one night. Nara Shikamaru, challenging how simple a task was?

"Really really," Hatake drawled, and turned the page. "Get out."

With a few shared glances, Naruto's squad left the room.

"And about us?" Neji asked, voice uncommonly taut. "I should warn you, if you fail me-"

"Save the spiel for your father, Hyuuga," the man interrupted, eyebrows raised in an unimpressed expression. "You all pass."

"What?!" Sakura spluttered from the corner.

"You heard me, little girl," he said, with a certain bite in his tone. "You and the rest of your team pass. Take it or leave it, but if you're going to leave it, it better be now."

The room fell silent, and Naruto and Sasuke shared a long look.

Naruto cocked one eyebrow.  _Are you going to stay?_

Sasuke looked from Naruto to the barely-visible glasses in the Captain's pocket. Finally, he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'll reject your offer," he said, voicing coming out as firm and cool as ever. "Thank you. It has been an honor working with the force." He saluted, swallowing hard as the Captain fixed a steely grey stare on his face. The lanky man slowly slipped his book back in his jacket, sat up, and nodded.

"Uchiha." He tilted his head. "You do good work. Unfortunate…well, you are dismissed."

"Sir. I also retract my success."

The man didn't so much as sigh at the quiet voice, though Sasuke had to suppress his own sigh of relief when the heavy gaze slid away from him. "Very well, Aburame. Techies are always welcome, if you change your mind. Dismissed."

Shino shuffled out without a backwards glance, though he tapped Sasuke on the shoulder as he went and touched to the mic on his coat.  _A way to keep in touch._  He was gone before Sasuke could acknowledge the gesture.

"Sorry, cutie, but I'm leaving too." Ino stood with a bubbly wink. "Would have liked to get to know you better."

This time, the man's mask shifted as if he were smiling. "Tempting. You can swing by whenever you like."

Blowing him a kiss, the blonde practically skipped out. Sasuke almost sighed, knowing the pistol she should have turned in was still tucked into her skirt.

Hatake turned to Sakura. He looked her up and down once, then snorted. "I take it you're resigning too, sweetheart?" For once, the sarcasm was plain in his voice.

She glared fiercely, and fought a "Yes, sir," out of clenched teeth.

"Good. Dismissed." Sasuke clenched his fist at the curt words, and Sakura visibly ground her jaw shut before taking a deep breath and saluting crisply. She stepped outside, at just the right angle for Sasuke to see the faces she made as she left.

At last, Hatake tilted his silvery head at Neji. "You're leaving now too, aren't you?" he sighed. He threw up his hands, affecting a grin. "You've been accepted onto the Force! You ought to run home and tell Daddy."

Neji gave a very shallow, stiff bow. "Sir." He stalked out with all the grace of an offended Prince.

The man watched him go, then sighed quietly. He closed his eyes and forced a little smile. "Just us now, boys. Anything you'd like to add? I don't suppose you're leaving the Force, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head. "No sir. It'd be an honor to work with you." If the words were a little rushed, Sasuke pretended not to notice.

Grey eyes fixed on the blonde, unnervingly focused. At last, he stood, running a hand though flipped hair. "Honor indeed."

He left without another word.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, looking a little too overwhelmed to speak. Sasuke let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and straightened his sweatshirt.

"Well," he said. "That went over a lot easier than we were expecting."

Naruto just took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes. "You know, I feel a lot better. I don't know if it's the medicine, or the pressure taken off my chest with this whole escapade, or just knowing that everyone got their way. I'm actually looking forward to this."

"This what?"

"This investigation. This mission. I don't know. The future. I'm just feeling… happy."

Sasuke couldn't help a small smile. It had been – Sasuke thought back, but couldn't count in anything short of years – since Naruto had outright told him he was feeling well. He reached out and gripped his friend's shoulder, for once uncaring that they were on camera. "Come to the mansion and celebrate?"

Naruto cast him a crooked grin. "What happened to your first condition? Itachi will be home, won't he?"

Sasuke felt his good mood sink a bit at the mention of his brother, but he hid the emotion. Naruto was pleased; he wouldn't ruin the rare occasion. "Just this once," he allowed. "It's a special night."

_Besides. You can't start work_ _**that** _ _soon, Private Uzumaki._


	6. Stray Dog Strut

**Disclaimer:**  I own no characters and make no money off of this story; all the ridiculous amounts of income for the Naruto Franchise go to Kishimoto. I do however own this plot, and the inventions that I create for this story.

Warnings: Language, drugs, shirtless Kiba

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"Hey, dobe."

"Hey, Sasuke." A moment passed before Naruto looked up from his designs, seeing Sasuke perched on the edge of his bed. Concern jabbed through him – the Uchiha had rarely looked so defeated, and the bags under his eyes had grown in the few days since Naruto had seen him. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sasuke said, after a jaw-cracking yawn. He rubbed his eyes. "I'm no worse off than I was a week ago."

"But you're no better either," Naruto finished with a sigh. He paused, casting a glance at the half-finished blueprint on his desk, and threw the pen down. He stood, stretching his arms over his head and bending from side to side. "Come on. We'll go get some coffee from Ino."

"I don't want to go out right now," Sasuke mumbled. He looked down, caught himself fidgeting with the hem of his sweatshirt, and threaded his fingers together. He didn't offer any explanation. Naruto stared down at him, considering silently, before shrugging.

"Alright. Come have a cup with me, then."

"We should have thought this through better, Naruto. You should have been the one to run the street operation, and I should have stayed in the Force. It would have been better for both of us." Sasuke didn't move, eyes fixed on his hands. Naruto crossed the distance between then and sat next to him with a snort.

"What, the great Uchiha Sasuke can't handle a few gangs? Is it the bar fights that bother you, or the drugs? Or maybe the whores always running around-"

"It's all of that, Naruto!" Sasuke flopped backwards on the bed, unclasping his hands to run them through his messy black hair in frustration. "It's everything I was trained to shut down in the Police, and now I'm trying to fit in with it and pretend it doesn't bother me." Sasuke fell silent, a pained expression passing over his face. "It does though. Seeing how these people live… it makes me so uncomfortable. Not to mention, it's impossible to keep my clothes clean, and it's making me worse."

Naruto regarded him with a surge of pity. "You knew they lived like that when you were on the Force," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but  _I_ didn't," Sasuke retorted, voice low. Naruto buried his flash of anger as Sasuke quickly muttered as "Sorry" and looked away.

"Look, I get that you're having trouble gathering information, but if you wanted it the other way around, you should have said something before the test," Naruto said, trying to be patient.

"I had no idea I would react this way! I thought it would be easy." Sasuke covered his eyes with his forearms. "But  _no_ ," he drawled, " _you_  got the easy job."

Naruto stood up abruptly, finally annoyed by his friend's petulance. "Yeah," he drawled, "it's  _so_  easy spying on a new recruit in the Force without he  _or the Force_  noticing."

Sasuke sat up, shooting Naruto a dubious stare. "Hatake practically gave you the green card to spy on them."

"He assigned me to their orientation, Sasuke, because I was on probation and there wasn't much else for me to do. He's not exactly sending me friendly notes saying, 'Go right ahead, please gather information about our mysterious new assets when you're hardly an officer'."

"Still though-"

"Still though, he's a Police Officer and that means he hates my fucking heart for pumping," Naruto spat, crossing his arms with finality. Sasuke fell silent, just as Naruto had intended. A moment passed before he ran a hand over his eyes and took a deep breath. "You're being unusually angsty today. Do you still have your meds?"

"Yeah, of course," Sasuke replied. He shivered. "Unlike you, I listen to my doctor's warning about relapse. I've personally seen heroin addicts on withdrawal these past two weeks, and I don't want anything like that to happen to me." His fingers twitched compulsively to straighten his belt, and he balled them into fists. Naruto felt his frustration melt away at the sight and laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, drawing his gaze.

"Look, it's not going to, as long as you don't let it," he said seriously, grabbing one tight fist in his free hand and raising his eyebrows for emphasis. "You're going to be fine, believe me. You're tough, and you have Itachi – you can do this."

"Yeah, yeah, don't mother me," Sasuke grumbled, shrugging off his touch; the corner of his lips twitched upward. "Are you going to make that coffee, or do I have to do  _all_  the work?"

"Oh, fuck off," Naruto laughed, shoving him. "You can stay in here and sleep like the lazy bastard you actually are, and I'm gonna cook up some dinner. Wake you up when it's done."

"Mmm," Sasuke hummed in approval, rolling into fetal position and nuzzling his face into Naruto's pillow after yawning. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the sight, knowing that he wouldn't touch it with a nine foot pole were it anyone else's.

He strode out into the living room, ankles popping with each step from hours of disuse at his desk. He mussed up his blonde hair, making it stick up at odd angles – that it stayed was probably a sign that he needed a shower, he mused. He turned into the kitchen, flicking on the lights and reaching for the cabinet over the fridge.

"Naruto."

He stopped, turning around slowly with one eyebrow raised. The figure settled onto the couch was a familiar one, but nonetheless unexpected. Black eyes reflected the cheap blue light from the overhead, revealing nothing of the thought process behind them. "Itachi?" Naruto tilted his head inquisitively. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured Sasuke was here," the Uchiha said evenly. "Was I incorrect in my assumption?"

"No…." Forgetting his original hesitation, Naruto picked up the kettle on the stove and walked to the sink, filling it with water. "I was going to make sure he got some dinner before sending him home. Unless you have something planned?"

"I have no plans." Itachi stood with easy grace. "Would you mind if I joined you? I'll cook, if you'd like."

Naruto blinked as he set the kettle on the stove. "You could just take him home now, if you want…"

"Eating here would be fine," Itachi replied, and he was instantly in the fridge, rummaging through Naruto's sparse supply. "I could probably make ramen from these ingredients," he hummed thoughtfully.

Naruto grinned. "Would you, Itachi?"

Itachi straightened, returning a small smile to the blonde. "Of course. It will take a little time."

"That's okay. The water has to boil and the coffee has to steep."

"Coffee? Naruto, it's nearly seven."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish laugh. "What can I say? I'm an addict. Besides, Sasuke looked like he needed a picker-upper."

Itachi's concern didn't quite show on his face, nor did his voice waver in the slightest. "Is he alright?" Naruto shrugged, leaning his back against the counter.

"He's alright, sure. He's been better."

"Have you been telling him to do anything?"

"Not lately." His brain backtracked – he was always hyperaware of anything he told Itachi that was vaguely similar to a lie. "That is, we already had this planned a few years ago."

Itachi considered him, dark eyes framed by long eyelashes and delicate glasses, as if measuring him to some mental standard. Naruto stayed perfectly still, having been on the receiving end of Itachi's judgment more than once.

As ever, Itachi just smiled slightly and nodded. Naruto relaxed and started pulling out pots, and the dour older brother grabbed an onion and knife.

* * *

"Naruto, have you been put on any investigations in the Force?"

Naruto slurped his noodles with gusto, smacking his lips after he swallowed them and scrubbing the back of his hand over his mouth to wipe off the salt water. "Not officially," he replied, winking in Itachi's direction. The stoic Uchiha nodded and ate another bite with cultivated refinement.

"What he means to say is that he's spying on them," Sasuke clarified, rolling his eyes at the blonde.  _You don't have to be politically correct around him, dobe._

"More or less," Naruto laughed, sprawling his legs under the tiny kitchen table they were gathered around.  _Yeah, I know._

"On whom?" Though his voice was only mildly curious, one eyebrow was raised a few centimeters, and his black gaze penetrating. Naruto shrugged.

"Some new soldiers that got picked up after a huge battle in that little southern country. I guess the civil war there finally broke out into open fighting, and these guys were the only survivors the Police found by the time they got there."

"What's so special about them?"

Sasuke hmm'd in his curious, annoyed way that he used when Itachi was hiding some information. Naruto toe twitched to touch his in acknowledgement.  _Either Itachi wants to ask a different question, or he knows some answers_. To Itachi, Naruto just pulled an 'I dunno' face. "They seemed interesting."

Sasuke smothered his laugh, obviously failing. Not that Naruto really cared – he was being disgustingly blatant for a reason. Itachi gave him an unamused stare.

"No, Naruto," he said calmly, and stood to take his empty bowl to the counter.

"Aww, come on, Itachi!" Naruto leaned back, allowing his head to droop over the back of his chair. "Shikamaru and I play the 'trade information game' all the time."

"Then hold company with him."

"Itachi, if you told Naruto what you know, than he could be done with his job and out of the Force faster," Sasuke said, with a certain edge to his voice. Naruto sat up enough to raise an eyebrow at him and incline his head, but Sasuke was watching his brother carefully.

Itachi turned and returned the gaze evenly. "Sasuke, if I handed you and Naruto all the information I had about the Police and their assets, then you would hardly have any work to do."

Sasuke met his eyes for several seconds before looking away with a growl. "You never help me with anything, Itachi," he muttered.

"You never need my help. When you ask for it, you are merely being lazy."

"I'm not lazy, Itachi! What do you do all day? Sit at home and brood at your computer? Go out and party late at night?" Sasuke huffed indignantly and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "You're just a cold-hearted bastard who can't even see how much I'm struggling as it is."

Itachi snorted. "You are never home, brother. You have no way of knowing what I do all day, though your childish guesses amuse me – as do your melodramatic tendencies. If you were truly struggling before this, I would have intervened."

The look that Sasuke hid under his bangs was outright betrayed, agonizing despair flickering over his features. It was almost enough to make Naruto interject on the argument, which he had steadfastly refused to do over the years. "You don't know anything about me anymore," Sasuke whispered. Naruto swore he saw a tear on his cheek. He reached out to grab his arm, but Itachi beat him to it, moving from the kitchen to his brother's side in an instant.

"Stop this foolishness, Sasuke," Itachi said firmly, holding his shoulder in a tight grip. "I understand that you are having difficulties. That is why I came here tonight. But you  _will_ conquer them, and you have my full confidence that you have the abilities to do so alone. Don't be a child."

Sasuke didn't say anything. After a moment, the breath of a sigh ghosted past Itachi's lips, and he hauled his brother to his feet. "We are going home now, Naruto," he stated. He wrapped his arm around Sasuke's shoulder and guided him to the front door. "I appreciate you allowing us to eat here."

"You haven't finished your coffee," Naruto said, voice small.

Itachi gave him a wan smile. "I'm sure Sasuke will be back tomorrow. He can make up for my impropriety then."

And with that, Sasuke was steered out of the small apartment. Several seconds later and several car doors later, the quiet hum of Itachi's mustang vibrated through the paper-thin walls, intensified, and then slowly died away. Naruto cast his gaze over the half-filled mugs on the table and the dirty bowls and pot in the sink. His resigned sigh echoed through the empty room.

* * *

"What the fuck was that about?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, Sasuke," Itachi sighed.

"I already made sure he's not going to be spying on us anytime soon. Why do you have to be so secretive about everything?" Sasuke slumped in his seat, arms crossed angrily.

"I trust Naruto – apparently more than you do. It's not him that concerns me."

"I trust him just fine," Sasuke huffed. "It's the Police that I'm worried about. If they threaten him, I would rather…" he trailed off, absently rubbing the dark bags under his eyes. "I guess it's the same for you. But then, why wouldn't you tell him what you know about those soldiers?"

"Why do you think I know something?"

"Don't offend me, Itachi."

He blinked in concession. "I trust his ability to manage the issue on his own, as I said."

Sasuke shifted so his gaze fell on Itachi's array of alarms and cameras, gadgets and high-tech security devices strewn neatly across the desk in the entrance room. His brother had only turned one light when they had gotten home, but the faint blue glow of his electronics helped to illuminate the room, filling it with a soft hum. He noted that Itachi had locked three of the five locks on their door that night; one more than usual.

"That's a lie," Sasuke finally muttered, turning back to glower at Itachi. "You're the most paranoid person I've ever met. This isn't about Naruto at all, it's about them. Something to do with those kids that you won't tell even me because  _you don't trust me._ " He realized too late that he had forgotten to bury the hurt in his voice, turning his nose up with a spiteful glare to cover it. "You couldn't trust anything if it jumped in front of a bullet for you."

Itachi stood – gracefully, but with a certain abruptness that made Sasuke flinch in spite of himself. He stared down at Sasuke from across the coffee table, his unreadable gaze making Sasuke want to disappear into the very couch cushions. "You don't understand much, brother," he said slowly. After a second, he added, "I think you should get some sleep now."

He turned on heel, striding towards the stairs that led to his suite. Sasuke swiveled to watch him, and couldn't stop himself from growling, "I'm not a soldier, Itachi. Don't dismiss me like one."

"Don't act like one," was Itachi's cold reply, without so much as a glance over his shoulder or a pause in his step.

"I don't!" Sasuke yelled, jumping to his feet. Itachi turned around slowly, his blank expression only making Sasuke angrier. "I act like a fucking homeless ruffian! I try to fit in with gangs and drug dealers and all the other filth that lives on the streets of this city! I'm working my ass off so that I can destroy the Mayor's little citizen soldiers – and it's killing me!" His eyes stung with hot tears, which he blinked back. "Can't you see how hard this is on me? We used to be… we used to be best friends, Itachi. You were all I had left in the world. I was all you had left! You used to talk to me like I was something more a pesky ant beneath your notice." Itachi didn't move, and Sasuke let out a hiss of air, giving up and scraping the tears off his cheek with the back of his hand. He sank back onto the couch, energy drained. "Just go up to your room and leave me alone, like usual."

"You say that like I somehow mean so much to you, and you so little to me," Itachi's voice was somehow even lower and more dangerous. Sasuke just sniffed and tried not to feel like a petulant eight year old.

"Yeah, well, that's certainly what it seems like."

"Says the sixteen year old  _child_  who comes home once a week, only to fix up his tech and get different clothes, when Naruto's washer stops working." Sasuke stiffened at the hint of anger in Itachi's voice. He must be furious, if it was affecting him that much. "Don't pretend that I mean more to you than Naruto, or your petty mission.  _That's_  why you act like a soldier, Sasuke. You forget that there are people out there who care about you, not your fight – and hate to see you destroy yourself for it."

Sasuke was almost afraid to move, sitting up slowly. He couldn't bring himself to turn around and face his brother. "I'm not a soldier," he repeated, "and I never have been."

A moment passed in silence, and Sasuke briefly wondered if Itachi was still there. He continued anyway. "I thought you said that you weren't worried about me?" he asked, trying to make his voice light, even a little teasing.

Suddenly, there was a hand ruffling his messy hair, and Sasuke tilted his head up to see his brother, standing behind the couch with a faint smile. "Of course I'm worried about you," he replied, his voice very soft. "Why do you think I brought you home?"

"To bitch at you like a little girl?" Sasuke asked, smiling. Itachi cuffed him lightly over the head.

"Go to sleep, Sasuke."

"Yes, mother."

Itachi paused, halfway to the stairs once more. "Don't call me that."

Sasuke buried a snicker. "Father?"

"No." And like that, he was gone. Faintly puzzled, but not about to press the issue, Sasuke worked his way through the dim hallway to his room.  _God, I'm getting moody,_  he thought.  _Damn dobe is wearing off on me._

* * *

"Private Uzumaki."

"Hey! Sunshine! How are you feeling today?" Naruto whirled suddenly at the soft voice, grinning widely as he stuffed a paper into the nearest pocket. He was met with a severe expression, the muscles around the eyes just tight enough to show his displeasure. The youngest soldier was out and about.

"I am feeling much better, thanks to your Captain's administrations," the red head said slowly, voice deep and raspy. "My sister woke up today." The green eyes flashed with a little life at that sentence, though they still seemed dull and unnaturally emotionless.

"Sister?" Naruto blinked a few times in surprise. "Is the guy your brother, then? How is she?"

"Yes, he is," the shorter boy confirmed. "And Temari is conscious. She cannot move yet, but she could at least recognize me."

Naruto squinted. "And you're… Gaara, right?"

"Uzumaki, you gave me my orientation. Can  _you_  not recognize me?" There was no hint of amusement in the dry tone. Naruto shifted and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"I recognize you, I'm just not so good with names," he admitted. "But I can remember faces, voices…" he trailed off, nose twitching like it always did around the rescued runt. "Sometimes even smells."

"Are you talking about me, Naru?"

Naruto half-turned to face Kiba as the Private sauntered in with a cocky grin and no shirt, Akamaru trodding at his heels and a light sheen of sweat covering his skin. Naruto chuckled, for once glad that Kiba's BO would be out in full force after his jog – it would probably be enough to cover the tangy, bitter odor hovering around Gaara.

"No, but your scent is certainly memorable," he joked. "Where is your shirt?"

Kiba drew up next to the blonde, sideways smile as devilishly charming as ever. "Come on, man, you know what I say. Shirts are optional." His brown gaze raked over Gaara's thin frame. "Who's the stiff?"

Naruto had to applaud Kiba – he had remembered to act oblivious about the soldier, and if Naruto hadn't personally known that he had spied on the boy, he wouldn't have suspected a thing. "This is Gaara, one of the siblings the Force picked up down South." He subtly stressed the word sibling. "Gaara, this is my friend, Kiba, and his dog, Akamaru."

"Are you blind, or just stupid?" Gaara asked coolly. Naruto couldn't help a bark of laughter.

"What? Shit, no!" Kiba bent over with a chuckle, hoisting the fluffy creature into his arms. "Akamaru is a tracker."

The dog barked and wagged his tail in agreement, prompting loud 'shush's from the nurse in the hallway. Naruto glanced around him, remembering where they were.

"Why are you in the med wing?" he asked Kiba, looking over his bare chest for injury. Kiba couldn't have managed to hurt himself on a morning jog unless he had picked a few fights on his way – which had been known to happen, though Kiba didn't seem to be showing any signs of it. Naruto shook his head in amusement as Kiba set Akamaru on the floor near Gaara, though the dog immediately skittered to his other side. Kiba met his eyes with a light frown.

"Looking for you, actually," he answered after a moment, flipping sweaty brown hair from his face and giving Akamaru a calming pat. "Hatake says he has an investigation for us to cover."

Naruto couldn't help his spirits lifting with childish anticipation, a twinkle in his eye. "Really? Where is he?"

"I'll take you. Something about a new drug den they just busted."

Naruto snorted incredulously. "I guess it's to be expected. First mission is just a drug clean-up. How mundane."

Kiba shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Apparently, it's not a normal situation." His eyes shifted to Gaara.  _Can't say much more with him here._

Naruto glanced over to Gaara, who was watching the exchange impassively. "Sorry, Gaara," he said. "It looks like I have to leave you. I was actually coming to check up on you, see if you needed anything. I know the city can be hard to get used to."

"I'm fine," Gaara responded, without so much as a twitch.

"Can you make your way back to your room alright?" Naruto hesitated to leave, even when the redhead nodded. The soldier was twitchy, and Naruto was still curious about why he was so apathetic – if it wasn't like Ino said, and he was just a blank slate – but he didn't want him getting  _hurt_. Or lonely, for that matter.

 _Such a fucking softy,_  he berated himself, but he couldn't put his heart in it. He had his first mission as a Private, and the subject he had been studying had spoken to him of his own volition-

"Hey, what did you need?" Naruto asked, whirling to face Gaara again as he remembered how their conversation had started. "Before I started talking?"

Gaara lifted his head to stare at Naruto eye-to-eye. He paused for a long moment, then stated, "Don't spy on me, or my family. If I catch you doing it again, I will kill you." He nodded once, almost respectfully, and practically marched back to his hospital room. Naruto and Kiba watched him go, speechless.

"What the fuck, man?" Kiba turned to him, eyebrows drawn. "Nobody else-"

"Later," Naruto muttered under his breath, turning on heel. "Let's go meet Hatake and see if we can't sort out this SNAFU he's found for us."

Akamaru growled softly at Gaara's retreating form before trotting after Naruto, Kiba beside him.

* * *

Naruto had to admit, the number of bodies  _was_  unusually large. He picked his way through the back room of the bar carefully, trying not to step on anyone. "Well, this is new."

"Yeah, no kidding," Kiba agreed, leaning against the door frame. The wood was hanging off its hinges, letting in enough sunlight to clearly illuminate the small space, crowded as it was with people. Akamaru hung back in the open alley, uneasy. "I haven't heard about a gang overdose like this in…"

"Ever," Naruto finished for him. He tilted his head with a wan smile. "Well, not this many, at least."

"It's the highest count on record," Kakashi spoke up. He was checking pulses with plastic gloves and his mask pulled up. "We brought you two along because you've been on the streets, and we thought you might be able to give us an idea of what this might be."

"What, SID can't analyze the scene, or some other fancy crap?" Naruto bent over, covering his face with his forearm as he peered at the nearest corpse. She had died pretty recently, by the look of it. Her brown hair was shining, and her skin looked fairly healthy, for it lacking blood flow. It was definitely not the look of a long-time drug addict.

"Of course we could," Kakashi replied coolly. "But it's a good job for the fresh meat. Consider it a quiz." He straightened, turning to cast Naruto a cheerful look. "Can you ID the leader?"

Naruto swept his gaze around the room, then pointed. "Over there. The guy has some space around him, and it looks like he was sitting on that chair before he fell over."

"Actually, you may want to check, but that looks like Iko," Kiba said casually, leaning over and tilting his head for a better view of the face.

"Iko?" Naruto squinted, then nodded to himself. "Yeah, that does look like his crew cut… and the red shirt does look like his."

"Mmm," Kiba confirmed.

Kakashi nodded. "We'll look into it. Can you ID the gang?"

"Well, if Iko was here, than his Crosses were bound to follow," Kiba piped up.

Naruto's brow wrinkled. "But it doesn't look like just one gang," he answered. "I mean, there's obviously a lot of Cross guys in here, but there are others too, unmarked ones…" He stood up, nudging the body at his feet with his toe to uncover the back of their neck. "And some 9s, looks like," he added, seeing the signature red number tattooed on the girl's pale skin.

Kakashi didn't say anything for a long second. "Do they normally get along?" he asked, suddenly reticent.

"No way," Kiba snorted, hopping through spaces of concrete to get to Naruto's side. "We never got along with the Crosses – those people think they're some kind of fucking antichrist reborn."

Naruto looked up at him, eyebrow cocked. "Really? You were in with the 9s too?"

Kiba shrugged. "I got passed around. I was never really 'in', ya know?"

"And who are the unmarked ones?" Kakashi mused, gloved hands dangling over his knees as he crouched on the balls of his feet.

"Well, that's just it. Can't tell who's they were, if they even had a Boss," Kiba grunted. "I doubt they would. If 9s and Crosses are getting together, the smaller gangs tend to get away."

"Why would they be getting together in the first place?" Naruto asked.

Kiba shrugged. "Obviously whatever the hell exorcism fuckery that was taking place was more important than their turf war."

"Can you ID the drug?" Kakashi asked, standing abruptly and watching them intently. Both boys turned to face him, then looked at each other.

"Not opium," Naruto supplied.

"Not a stimulant," Kiba added. "At least, not initially. It looks like these guys just fell over where they stood."

"But if there was a tranq-"

"The upper could have kicked in afterwards-"

"They'd be too paralyzed-"

"Heart starts racing-"

"Cardiac arrest and bam, they die." Naruto nodded to himself. "Hallucinogen?"

"These poor bastards were seeing  _something_  before they died, if they made those scratches." He gestured with his head to a body with long, red nail marks tracing down his face and neck, with funny stains where the blood ran sideways into his eyes.

"Bad reaction," Naruto argued, shaking his head. "Not common enough." He looked around him, but didn't see any evidence of self-harm in the other victims. Kiba huffed.

"So," Kakashi spoke up, sounding faintly amused, "it's not a drug either of you are familiar with?"

"No," Naruto answered, a little forcefully. "But we know it was intravenous," he added, gesturing to the needles littered across the room. Kiba gave a dry bark of laughter.

"Because that narrows it down so much," he said wryly. "Though, it is strange that there were so many needles. I know the Crosses just passed one around when they did groupie hits."

"Does this mean we fail your 'quiz'?" Naruto asked, ignoring that it was more heated than was strictly necessary.

"Cool it, hot shot," Kakashi chuckled. "You're in luck. I agree that the situation is bizarre, but I don't know the drug either. Luckily," he stood easily, and crossed the room carefully, towards the empty chair Naruto had gestured to, "I know someone that does."

"Who's that?" Kiba asked, crossing his arms. "I know my deals pretty well."

Kakashi bent over, picking up a small item and holding it up to the light. The sun glinted off a tiny glass vial, quarter-filled with an oily black liquid, which Kakashi shook smugly. "Boys, meet the perp."

Akamaru gave a sudden, high-pitched whine, and Kiba threw delicacy to the wind to get to him. "What is it, Akamaru? Is someone coming?"

Naruto's nose twitched, and a sudden thought occurred to him. "Sir, may I see that?"

Kakashi shrugged, and Naruto made his way to his side, trying not to think about the way the bodies squished under Kiba's frantic step. "Put gloves on," Kakashi ordered when he had reached him. Naruto pulled a pair out of his trench coat pocket with a sigh, snapping them on. Kakashi handed him the vial, and Naruto very carefully wafted one hand over the lidded opening. He couldn't smell anything through the plastic membrane. Sighing, he bent and grabbed the nearest needle, drawing up the smallest amount he could.

"Naruto," Kakashi said warningly.

"Don't worry," the blonde huffed. He let the drug dribble onto the lid of the vial, handed the empty needle to Kakashi mutely, and wafted the scent again.

A wave of sickness hit him, and he handed off the bottle and dashed to a shattered window, leaning over the edge to puke. "Fuck," he spat, peeling off the gloves and throwing them. He breathed in heavily. "That stuff is fucking potent!"

"What, exactly, were you planning to gain by smelling it?" Waves of disapproval were rolling off Kakashi, and Kiba was snickering vindictively from the door.

"I knew it smelled familiar," Naruto panted, leaning back inside and wiping his mouth. Kakashi cocked one eyebrow inquisitively.

"You know it?" Kiba asked, surprised.

"Yeah, and so does Akamaru." Naruto eyed the bottle grimly. "We should get that to Chouji and see if he can't analyze it. We're going to be seeing some serious issues with it soon."

"And why would you say that?" Kakashi asked severely.

"Because it's brand new. We just got it courtesy of our adopted 'assets'."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello and welcome on the ride.
> 
> I have had this story planned in reserve for a considerable amount of time and have finally decided to write it. This prologue is separate from the main story line both time-wise and, to some extent, style-wise. If you're confused, try not to worry and persevere through to the end - where I promise everything will make absolute sense.
> 
> You can check my profile for more information about my updating days that I will TRY to uphold for this story, with absolutely no guarantees. A big thanks to my friend OutAndOdder for beta-ing this for me now and then.
> 
> On a side note, this is not a NaruSasu fic. They are practically brothers. Pairings will be revealed with time.
> 
> Sorry for the long author's note. Read and Review, please!


End file.
